


Chance Encounters

by cystemic



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-03-06 23:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 76,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13422105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cystemic/pseuds/cystemic
Summary: Anakin and Ahsoka are sent to investigate the rumours of Separatists hiding out in Wild Space.





	1. Chapter 1

"Where are we going, Skyguy?" Ahsoka sat down in the co-pilot seat and made herself comfortable. "Master Obi-wan didn't say much before we left."

"We're heading for Wild Space," Anakin Skywalker said cheerfully. "Planet called Lysatra on the outskirts of the Unknown Regions."

"You seem pretty happy about it," she noted.

"It's a long flight, Ahsoka." Anakin grinned. "And I may have made some upgrades to the hyperdrive before we left."

The young Togruta cocked an eyebrow as she swivelled around in her seat. "Should I be worried?"

From the back of the cockpit came an excitable tootling and beeping, followed by an echoey coo.

"Artoo's right. There's nothing to be worried about." Anakin shrugged as the droid scooted towards them. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

"If you say so, Master." Ahsoka patted R2-D2 on the head. "What's on Lysatra anyway?"

"Chancellor Palpatine received intelligence that the Seperatists have been hiding something in Wild Space. Master Windu looked into it and there's been reports of people mysteriously disappearing. He wants us to check it out."

"You think the Separatists are kidnapping them?"

"Hard to say," Anakin said, returning to the controls. "Master Obi-Wan is busy with the Seperatist fleet over Saleucami."

"So it's up to us to get to the bottom of this mystery." Ahsoka grinned.

Artoo whirred approvingly and tootled away towards the dataport.

"What I don't get, Master, is why we need Three Pee-oh?" Ahsoka turned to look at the gold-plated droid muttering to himself in the corner.

"Oh, Mistress Tano, I assure you I can be quite useful," it vocabulated. "I am fluent in over six million forms of communication—"

"Exactly." Anakin nodded. "They don't all speak Basic out in Wild Space. We'll need Three Pee-oh to translate if we want to get to the bottom of what's going on."

"If you say so, Skyguy." Ahsoka shrugged. "How long till we get there?"

Anakin turned to look at her with a sly smile. 

"You might wanna get some sleep."

\---

The Twilight blinked into the Lysatra system and orbited the glowing sun to find the planet just halfway through its yearly rotation. 

It appeared as a yellowish brown ball through their cockpit window. A skyhook was latched in at the equator and protruded all the way out into space where it ended in an interstellar spaceport. Giant freighters were docked into branches of steel and waited idly to be loaded.

"Looks like we made it," Anakin said smugly.

"I'll never doubt this grease bucket again," Ahsoka replied. "Looks like the spaceport is hailing us."

"Might as well talk to them," Anakin said, flipping a switch and keying the com. 

The Twilight's ancient holo-projector sputtered to life and displayed the image of a bored looking Human in his fifties. Brown hair, windswept with silver and a glint of suspicion in his eye. 

"Name and business," he barked.

"My name is Anakin Skywalker," he said. "I'm a Jedi Knight and this is my Padawan, Ahsoka Tano."

"Hello." Ahsoka waved. "We're here to investigate the mysterious disappearances."

The Lysatran's face soured when he heard the word Jedi and a twinkle of fear coloured his eye at the mentions of disappearances. 

"Jedi?" he said.

"Yes, we're with the Republic," Ahsoka explained.

"Core folk? What are you doin' out here?" The Lysatran scowled.

"We're here to investigate the mysterious disappearances, we just said-"

"There ain't no disappearances here," he snapped. "Now 'nless you have a delivery or you're here to trade, I got nuthin' more to say to you."

Ahsoka pouted and folded her arms. But Anakin quickly turned and beckoned Three Pee-Oh over.

"We'd love to trade," he said enthusiastically. "Got a couple of droids right here that might fetch a good price." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

"Master Anakin, despite our obvious monetary worth, I would like to remind you that Artoo and I can be very useful in-"

"But they talk too much." Anakin tried a charismatic smile. "Will you let us dock?"

The Lysatran frowned and the lines in his face deepened. 

"Fine," he huffed. "Just keep your wits about ya. This ain't the Core."

"Well, that's pretty obvious." Ahsoka rolled her eyes when the com cut out. "Looks like they don't like visitors," she said irritably. "Or Jedi."

"Relax, Snips. This isn't even the Outer Rim. They've probably never even seen a Jedi in person."

"They're still rude."

"Patience, Padawan. We'll crack open those hard Wild Space shells yet."

"You sound like Obi-Wan."

They drifted into the space station and a tractor beam helped them find the right hangar to dock. The Twilight rested on its rickety magnapeds and lowered a ramp for them to exit.

The two Jedi emerged into a none-too-clean hangar without comment but the droids following them had much to say.

"I don't like this, Artoo. This space station seems to lack proper cleaning regulations," Three Pee-oh grumbled.

The smaller droid beeped and chittered.

"I am not a coward. I'm simply pointing out that this station could be cleaner with the right managment."

More irritable tootling and scratching followed.

"Perhaps, you're right Artoo. Maybe I _should_ stay with the ship."

"Hey, would you two knock it off?" Anakin interrupted. "We're gonna need both of you to get through customs."

"Of course, Master Anakin. Anything I can do to assist." Three Pee-oh shuffled forward on his stiff legs, arms locked in place by golden brackets.

"Come on, Artooie." Ahsoka waved him over and the droid joyfully scooted up beside her.

They left the hangar and approached one of kiosks to check in, all the while followed by the dubious eyes of every worker, traveller and customs agent in the spaceport.

Ahsoka felt their gaze most of all.

"I guess they don't get many tourists," she said.

"Hmm, I was expecting a warmer welcome" Anakin said. "Plug in, Artoo."

The astromech wheeled about and ejected a dataspike from its chassis, straight into the dataport of the customs kiosk. It whirled around clockwise, then counter-clockwise, then Artoo started beeping.

"Just put 'trade goods'," Anakin said, understanding the droid's binary without translation. 

The droid beeped and hiccuped.

"Haha. Good one, Artoo."

"Now see here, you cylindrical scrap pile. I am a sophisticated machine capable of many servicable functions. Mistress Padme has deemed my work invaluable."

Artoo's sound unit made a sharp scratching noise.

"Can you download a map, Artoo?" Anakin said, eyeing a passing alien with interest. 

The spaceport was full of them. Different species they had never seen before and some that were all too familiar with. No Togrutas though, and Ahsoka felt the weight of their gaze more than any of them.

"Master..." she said, turning. "Those guys look like trouble." She inclined her head.

Anakin straightened up to full height and hardened. 

The two long snouted aliens suddenly lost interest and crawled away, leaving behind a trail of slime that people began sidestepping widely.

"Bishi-vant kukr'x seefnm," said an approaching alien with compound eyes.

"Hmm? What did he say Three Pee-oh?"

"He said they want her lightsabers," the droid translated.

"Why?" Ahsoka asked. "I thought they didn't get Jedi out here."

"Bafwuh lukriku Jedi nata chikchik?" the droid asked.

"Hishi pokrika t'tu visi."

"He says that is why they're so valuable."

Ahsoka frowned. "If they want them, they can take them the hard way," she said sternly.

"Three Pee-oh, ask him who he is and tell him who we are," Anakin said.

The droid proceeded to do so and the alien chittered in reply, moving his many arms up and down. He grabbed Anakin and Ahsoka's hands and shook them simultaneously.

"He says he is Vuzkrrrsh the Shrewd and that he's very pleased to meet you both."

"Tell him the feeling is mutual," Anakin said, his whole body shaking. "Ask him if any Separatists have been through here?"

There was a brief exchange and the alien let go of their hands to the Jedi's great relief. Ahsoka rubbed her wrist calmly and tried to smile.

"Oh, Master Anakin. He says he doesn't know anything about Separatists but he's very interested in purchasing me for his shop," the droid said worriedly.

"Tell him you're not for sale." Anakin folded his arms. "And ask if he knows anything about the mysterious disappearances on the surface."

"Yes, Master Anakin."

"He's probably just a trader," Ahsoka whispered to her master. "We should find someone who works for the authorities."

"We'll get to that." Anakin nodded. 

"He says I'm listed in the trade manifests for our ship therefore I am most definitely for sale," Three Pee-oh blabbered. "This is all your fault," he muttered at Artoo.

"Tell him I'll consider it if he can provide us with a way to reach the surface."

"What?! Master Anakin, I beg you, I sorely do not wish to leave Mistress Padmé's service."

"Relax, Three Pee-oh. I would never leave you here."

The droid translated and the alien seemed a lot more forthcoming. 

"He says he can show us the way to the Skyhook elevator and pay for our fare after we negotiate the trade in his shop."

"Are you sure about this, Master?" Ahsoka asked.

"I'll handle it, Ahsoka-"

"Hey!" 

The voice rang out across the spaceport and a rough looking security officer emerged from the crowd.

"You up to your old tricks again, Vooshi?" He pointed an accusing finger at the alien who held up all his hands in surrender.

He chittered something apologetic at the stone-faced Human but he wasn't swayed.

"Is that right?" he asked with more than a hint of doubt. "And if they somehow failed to come back, you wouldn't, of course, use the droid to steal their ship? Now, would you?"

The alien shook his big head, pretending to be insulted.

"Alright, get on now. Get." The officer pointed with his shock baton. "Had enough of you this week."

The multi-limbed alien muttered something indignantly and shuffled away. 

The security officer turned to them and gave them a once over, his eyes stopping on the lightsabers.

"You the Jedi?"

"Yes," Anakin said. "I'm Anakin Skywalker and this is my padawan Ahsoka Tano."

The officer chewed at the teethpicker in his mouth.

"Right. You'll wanna head down to the surface, I expect." 

Ahsoka sighed. "Finally. Some direction." 

The officer inclined his head. 

"Hey Vanto!" he called out across the spaceport.

There was a man on the far side unloading his hover trolley. He rolled down the door to his trailer and turned to look at them.

"What is it, Jury?" he called back.

"You headin' down to the surface?"

"Yeah," he said apprehensively.

"Then, take these _'Jedi'_ with you. And show 'em to Bonaly station."

"Aw, come on, Jury. It's Eli's birthday."

"Take him with you," Jury said sternly, holstering his shock baton. "Or maybe your family can wait an extra cycle for your next loading permit."

Vanto made an indignant noise under his breath.

"Fine," he said out loud, clapping the dust off his hands. "Come on, son."

A young boy jumped down from the hover trolley and took his hand. Vanto picked up a large satchel and they wandered over together. 

The man's dark brown eyes were heavily lidded and narrowed suspiciously but the boy beside him wore a casual smile and enthusiasm, unburdened by the cares of the world.

"Jeb Vanto," the man grunted suddenly. "This is my son, Eli."

"Hi." The boy waved his free hand enthusiastically.

"It's nice to meet you," Ahsoka said. "We're-"

"Yeah I heard," Jeb interrupted. "Follow me."

He walked off at a brisk pace and his son struggled to keep up. 

The Jedi looked to each other before quickly following. Their droid counterparts beeped and complained but endeavoured to catch up as quickly as possible.

Jeb Vanto didn't stop to talk to anyone but every few minutes he'd glance over his shoulder worriedly and muttered something under his breath to which the boy would gasp and steal a glance too.

He finally stopped in front of a large elevator door and the rest of the gang gathered around. They waited silently for a few minutes, Eli stealing as many glances of the Jedi over his shoulder as possible.

"Are you from Lysatra?" Ahsoka asked politely, seeing the eager look on his face.

"Yes," Jeb growled.

"Born and raised," Eli said with a smile. "Are you really Jedi?"

"Sure are." Ahsoka nodded, tapping the lightsaber on her belt. "This is my master." She pointed to Anakin who folded his arms.

"Anakin Skywalker?" Eli asked excitedly. "I've seen you on the HoloNet. Is it true you kicked the Separatists off Teth?"

"Well, not all of them." Anakin shrugged.

"I kicked some too," Ahsoka added.

"Hush, Eli," Jeb interrupted. "Don't wanna bother the Jedi with your questions."

"It's alright," Anakin said. "We actually have a few questions of our own."

"Really?" Eli let go of his father's hand. "I thought Jedi could read minds."

Ahsoka smiled. "Not exactly."

"So you can _kinda_ read minds?" he said thoughtfully.

"Sometimes it's just easier to ask."

"Can I ask you something?" he brightened.

"Shoot."

"What kind of alien are you?"

"Eli!" Jeb growled.

"No, no, it's alright." Ahsoka threw up her hands. "I am Togruta. I come from a planet called Shili in the Expansion Region."

"Expansion?" Eli wondered.

"Between the Inner and Mid Rims."

"Wooah." Eli turned to his dad. "That's so far away."

"Can you tell me about your planet, Eli?"

The boy turned back and nodded. 

"Of course," he said proudly. "Lysatra's in the middle of four different trade routes and six different hyper-routes running into the Core," he recited.

"What about the planet itself? Is there anything you can tell me about it?"

"It's a waypoint for starfarers travelling into the Unknown Regions. Kind of like a last stop before the drop-off. Most traders keep a storehouse of some kind here."

"The drop off?"

"Yup. We get all kinds of weird aliens dropping in to trade goods the rest of the galaxy's never seen."

"That's impressive. And what do you and your father do exactly?" Anakin asked.

"We ferry goods into the Outer Rim. Dad runs his own shipping business and now I'm old enough to help." He grinned.

"I heard it was your birthday," Ahsoka said.

"It is," Eli said excitedly. "I'm ten years old today."

"Oh my, how terrible," Three Pee-Oh butted in. "I've no ingredients with which to bake young master Eli a cake. I do apologize. Perhaps we'll find some on the surface."

"A cake?" Eli brightened. "Dad, did you hear that? This droid wants to bake me a cake."

"They're just being polite, Eli. They don't really care about your birthday. They just want information."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

Jeb sighed and mumbled something irritably without turning.

"What do you want to know?" Eli asked.

"We're actually here on a mission," Ahsoka explained. "The Grand Chancellor is worried the Separatists might be hiding out in Wild Space. And then we heard of the mysterious disappearances on Lysatra."

"Kidnappings," Jeb grumbled.

"What makes you say that?"

"Mysterious disappearance is just Core-world speak for kidnapping."

"It was the Chiss," Eli said.

"The Chiss?" Anakin piped up.

"Uh-huh. People have been disappearing ever since they got here."

"Who are the Chiss, exactly?" Ahsoka asked.

"Big blue aliens with glowing red eyes and huuuge teeth." Eli spread his fingers wide. "They eat Human flesh and level buildings with magic lasers that melt durasteel."

"Oh my," Three Pee-Oh interrupted. "How barbaric."

"They're fierce warriors that'll snap your neck if you look at them funny." The boy continued his tale with great gusto. "They come out of the Unknown Regions to harvest us like livestock and then they vanish without a trace." 

"Are you sure these things are real?" Ahsoka asked doubtfully.

"There are so many stories about them. They gotta be real," Eli said.

"So you haven't actually seen them?"

"No but we saw one of their ships crash in a ball of blue flames."

"Hush-" Jeb began but-

"Really?" Anakin cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't listen to him. The boy doesn't know what he's saying."

"But daaad..."

"Hush, Eli. You've said enough." He held out his hand and the boy took it sulkily.

"It's the Chiss," he whispered over his shoulder at Ahsoka.

She smiled at him and the elevator door slowly creaked open. 

They stepped inside the dingy brown carriage and the droids made a far less graceful entrance to Eli's amusement and Jeb's disdain.

Artoo beeped loudly and trilled something in binary.

"Now, you're just being facetious," Three Pee-oh nagged.

Artoo replied with a serious of whistles and Three Pee-oh made an incensed comment about his manufacturer. The bickering continued all the way down to the surface of Lysatra as they descended down the skyhook.

"You think these Chiss are really behind it?" Ahsoka asked Anakin quietly.

"They sound like a myth Ahsoka. I wouldn't take it too seriously," Anakin said. "We'll know more once we speak to someone in charge of the investigation."

A few minutes later, they reached the bottom of the elevator shaft and the rickety carriage de-pressurised and released them into a similar looking spaceport. Goods were being hovered in and out of elevators. Droids carried boxes and crates and pallettes and packages, escorted by enforcers who observed with a casual but noticably suspicious interest.

Jeb nodded to a few men as they passed and they nodded back without saying a word. Eli however, waved and greeted all of them. 

"Happy Birthday, Eli," they'd say.

"Ten years old, huh?"

"Gonna start givin' your dad a run for his money?"

Anakin and Ahsoka followed quietly, observing their surroundings with a little help from the Force. But nothing seemed to be out of order. The Lysatrans were a little unfriendly but none seemed dangerous or shady enough to be up to trouble.

They left the spaceport and stepped out into the streets of Lysan. A large city sprawling out from the base of the skyhook. Warehouses stacked up like crates, forming blocks and workers wheeled goods in and out. Droids could be seen accounting their stock and alien traders wandered through the streets, looking through market stalls and shop windows.

"Look," Eli said, pointing at a big grey warehouse as they passed. "This one is ours." He smiled.

Ahsoka spotted the faded Aurabesh letters on the side of the building.

_Vanto Shipping Co._

"It's huge," she said, looking up.

"Ayup." Eli nodded. 

Jeb Vanto walked up to the nondescript door and flashed a code cylinder at the sensor. "C'mon," he said, gesturing for them to come in.

"Oh, we wouldn't want to impose," Ahsoka said. "If you could show us the way to the Bonaly station, I'm sure we can find our way from there."

"The station's in Bonaly," Eli explained. "There's only spaceport security in Lysan. People don't actually live here."

"So where do they live?"

The boy shrugged. "Around the planet."

"You wanna get to the ranger station, you need a transport," Jeb grumbled and disappeared inside the warehouse.

"We live in a settlement outside Lysan called Bonaly," Eli explained. "It's on the edge of the land where the kidnappings have been happening. Dad can give you a ride if you want."

"He doesn't sound like he wants us here," Anakin noted.

"Yeah, he doesn't like people from the Core," Eli admitted. "He says they're real snobby and look down on us 'cos we're from Wild Space."

They followed him inside.

"You guys seem nice, though."

"We _are_ nice," Ahsoka said with a little irritation as they walked through the maze-like aisles of the warehouse.

"Oh!" Eli suddenly remembered something. 

He rushed ahead into the empty space where his father was standing. Jeb was staring up at the ceiling. It receded from the roof to show them the yellowing sky.

"Dad, can I do it today?" Eli begged. "Can I? Pleeease?"

Jeb sighed and passed him the small handheld device he'd only just pulled out of his pocket.

Eli grabbed it fervently and pointed it at the sky with both hands.

"I summon the Raindancer!" he said loudly as the others gathered around.

Nothing happened.

"Is the Raindancer your ship?" Anakin asked, examining the device Eli was holding.

"Uh-huh." Jeb nodded.

"Sshhh, you'll ruin it," Eli whispered.

They waited a few minutes and then finally the sky was darkened by a blip of a shadow. It grew larger and larger and soon they could see the old speeder-van hovering towards them.

"Tada!" Eli called out as the sturdy old transport descended through the open roof.

"Remarkable!" Three Pee-oh uttered. "Master Anakin, could it be that Master Eli is sensitive to the Force?"

"Haha, no Three Pee-oh," Anakin said. "He's using a beckon call. The Raindancer is keyed into your frequency, right?"

"Aaaw, no fair," Eli said. "Since when do Jedi study mechanics?"

"A while, actually," Anakin told him. "It was one of my specializations as a Padawan. Can I see that?" 

He reached for the remote but Jeb snatched it from Eli's hand before he could take it.

"We best get moving," he said, hopping into the driver's seat.

Eli smiled and clambered up to ride shotgun, clipping his small seatbelt in tight. The Jedi and their droids climbed into the van and the speeder took off from the ground, hovering and rising out of the Vanto warehouse.

The roof closed beneath them as they made their way out into the city traffic. The view from above was much like the view from below. Warehouses and depots spilling out from the skyhook as far as the eye could see and a small cluster of buildings near the spaceport made up the trade and finance districts.

Jeb Vanto took several detours and somehow made it out of the traffic faster than a straight line route would have logically taken. They flew out of Lysan and its warehouse infested streets and into the plains of wild Lysatra. Grassy and green and gold in patches with plenty of animals grazing, oblivious to the massive skyhook which grew out of their planet.

They passed a herd of odd-looking quadrupeds and Ahsoka couldn't help but smile when she saw their odd rear-shaped snouts.

The speeder-van rose higher into the sky as the sun began to set. It bathed the plains in a reddish gold hue and warmed their faces as they drifted along. 

A flock of brown birds caught up to the van and curiously swooped in to examine it. A few collided with the van's energy shield and quickly changed course to follow the wind.

It was dusk by the time they reached Bonaly and Eli was yawning widely from the front of the van. It was a small town that looked like a landing strip with only a few buildings lining the edge. They stopped somewhere toward the end and pulled up.

"Ranger station," Jeb said, pulling the door release.

"Ranger station?!" Eli suddenly woke up. "Can I go too, dad? Please."

"No, son. We gotta pick up some groceries and head on home. Leave the Jedi to their business."

"Aaaw..."

"Thanks for the lift," Anakin said, alighting. "And your help." He nodded to Eli who waved back eagerly.

"Let me know if you find the Chiss," Eli said through the window, climbing over his father. "I've been looking for signs of them all over-"

"That's enough, Eli," Jeb pushed him back into his seat calmly. "Say goodbye."

"Goodbye, Master Jedi."

Ahsoka and the droids expressed their farewell and the old van hovered away down the singular road.

"What a delightful, young man," Three Pee-oh said as they turned to look at the ranger station.

It was a plain brown building that very much resembled the warehouses in Lysan but there were a few more signs and decorations on the dusty permacrete. Missing Persons posters were plastered all over the noticeboard and a few patrol speeders were parked out front.

Artoo beeped quietly as they approached the doors. 

"Well, Mr Vanto seemed to think this was the ranger station." Three Pee-Oh said.

Some tootles and whines rebutted his arguement.

"You're right, he _was_ acting rather strange."

They entered the ranger station and found the interior as drab as the exterior, complete with defunct light fixtures and dusty old furniture. There were several desks scattered hapzardly through the space and a line of blasters and rifles covered the back wall.

A single man sat at a desk behind a plaque with the letters "Ranger Tobyas Emiro" embossed in peeling paint. His eyes were fixed on an old terminal that flickered indeterminately, showing some form of profile document. He raised his head when he heard them come in and frowned.

"Hello," Ahsoka tried a friendly greeting again. "My name is Ahsoka Tano and this is Anakin Skywalker."

"You the Jedi?" The dark haired man narrowed his eyes. "Got a call from Jury 'bout you."

"The security guard?"

"Mhmm. Said you was causing trouble at the spaceport." 

"Us?" Anakin asked innocently. "We were just asking a few questions."

"That's how trouble starts," Emiro said sternly.

"We're not allowed to ask questions?" Ahsoka asked incredulously.

"We don't need none of you Core folk pokin' around our business," he said with more than a grain of salt in his tone. "Got enough to deal with."

"Yeah, we heard about that," Anakin said. "We're here to help."

"You wanna help?" The man leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. "Go back and finish the Clone Wars."

The Jedi frowned.

"We're actually here because we think the Separatists might be hiding out in Wild Space," Anakin said. "The sooner we find them, the sooner we leave."

"The Confederacy has stayed out of Wild Space since you Jedi bigshots kicked them off Teth."

"So what about all the mysterious disappearances?" Ahsoka pointed out.

"They're isolated incidents."

"Twenty eight isolated incidents?" Anakin asked. "I can count posters."

The grizzled ranger furrowed his brow.

"They're isolated to Bonaly and its surrounds. There's nothin' out here for miles."

"You're saying there's nowhere for them to go?"

Emiro sighed. He clicked on the holoprojector and reluctantly showed them a map of the land. Red dots were scattered throughout the holo to indicate where the missing people were last seen.

"Y'see? No pattern to the disappearances. No connection to the Separatists." He flicked through the profiles. "Nothing linking them together other than residence in the Bonaly county."

"Hmmm." Anakin looked over the holo. "What about the Chiss?"

Emiro's face darkened.

"What about 'em?"

"We heard there are aliens in the area who could be behind the disappearances."

"There are no unregistered aliens in Bonaly," Emiro said sternly. "And definitely no Chiss." He hissed the last word.

"Funny," Ahsoka smirked. "Eli Vanto told us a starship crashed not far from where he lives."

"The boy's crazy. Goes chasing after conspiracies where there are none." Emiro shook his head. "It was just a meteorite. Not even a big one." 

He opened his desk drawer and pulled out an odd-shaped rock. 

"See?"

"You're saying he's lying?"

"He's a kid," Emiro breathed out wearily. "The Chiss aren't real. They're a myth we tell kids about the Unknown Regions because we don't know what's out there. Apparently, the younger Vanto's too stupid to work that out."

"We'd still like to investigate the disappearances," Anakin said.

"Suit yourselves." Emiro shook his head. "The cantina across the street has a few rooms you can stay in while you're here. Tell Vuela I sent you."

"We'd also like a copy of all the data you've got on the missing people."

"Fine." The ranger ejected a datacard from a dusty old port and handed it to him.

"Oh and Master Jedi," he said. "Welcome to Bonaly."


	2. Chapter 2

They crossed the street and found the cantina Emiro was talking about. Vuela was the owner and the barkeep and the manager all rolled into one bucksome brunette with hair that belonged in the big city. She looked them over with the same suspicion and distaste every Lysatran seemed to have cultivated in the absence of Republic presence on their planet. But she shrugged and gave them a room to share.

"I almost prefer the rust bucket," Ahsoka said as they entered the modest dwelling.

"Never thought I'd hear you say that," Anakin grinned.

 _"Almost."_ She narrowed her eyes. 

"My word," Three Pee-oh vocabulated. "The dust on this planet is surely going overload my servo-motors."

Artoo wheeled into the room and whooped with a derogatory beep to punctuate.

"I would trade you in a millisecond for a good oil bath."

"Artoo," Anakin interrupted. "Here's the data Ranger Emiro gave us." He inserted the datacard into the rambunctious droid. "See if you can find any leads."

Artoo happily tootled as the datacard disappeared into its chassis.

"Doesn't seem like a lot to go on," Ahsoka said.

"We'll smoke the Separatists out, one way or another. I just hope Master Windu was right."

A low stomach growl made its presence know and Anakin smiled. "Let's go get something to eat," he suggested. "Artoo, keep sifting through those files."

"Ah, and what should I do, Master Anakin?"

"Stay out of trouble, Three Pee-oh," he said as they left the room.

The cantina was dark enough for the patrons to appear as if they were lurking in the shadows and the Jedi left to find a more suitable dining option before the suspicious side-eye gave them a migraine. But after walking the single long street up and down, they found that not one of the blocky warehouse-like buildings had a sign or even a name on them.

"Guess we could always just wait for it to rain." Anakin shrugged.

"Oh no." Ahsoka shook her head. "I'm not eating worms again."

The sheepish grin on her master's face was interrupted when a familiar voice called to them.

"Master Jedi!" Eli waved with a grocery bag in one hand. Jeb was loading the rest into his van nearby while the townsfolk muttered disapprovingly at his son's company.

"Eli," Ahsoka greeted him. "I thought you and your dad were going home."

"We had to pick up a few things first," he grinned.

"Where did you find food in this town?" Anakin wondered. 

"Oh, there's a store in the big brown building over there labelled 293. Kinda looks like a warehouse." He pointed over his shoulder.

Anakin and Ahsoka exchanged glances.

"Are you hungry?" Eli asked. "Mom is gonna cook something special tonight, I know it. I'm sure there'll be plenty if you want to join."

"I don't think your dad would be too keen to see us again."

"Oh, no. I'm sure he'd love it." Eli grabbed Ahsoka's hand and pulled towards the van.

Jeb didn't look too pleased when he saw the Jedi again but he simply shook his head and got in the vehicle, resigned to his son's birthday wishes. Anakin and Ahsoka piled in with the rest of the groceries and hitched a ride to the Vanto household.

Eli spent the entire trip sharing stories about the Chiss abducting people to his father's dismay. Fortunately, it didn't take too long for them to reach the property. It was a single two story building on a flat plain bordered by woods on the western side.

"See?" Eli pointed out the window. "It's the perfect place to take your victims. Especially after dark cos they can see but nobody else can."

"Uh-huh," Ahsoka nodded skeptically but something about that dark patch of trees and bushes was sinister in more ways than one. She felt a darkness creep through her mind. 

"You feel it, too?" Anakin asked quietly.

"Yeah," she said. "Weird."

They pulled up in front of the house and Jeb wordlessly began unloading the van as the Jedi stared off into the distance.

"There's been weird noises coming out of the woods every night," Eli said. "Like screaming but not Human, y'know?"

Ahsoka felt a shiver run down her spine and she didn't doubt that something was going on in there, Chiss or no.

"You're back." A woman opened the door to the Vanto home and walked over to help her husband with the groceries.

"Hi, mom." Eli ran over to help with a smaller bag. "I invited some Jedi over for dinner. I hope that's okay."

The woman's expression quickly morphed from relief into fear.

"This is Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker," Eli told her excitedly. "They're here to solve the kidnappings and fight the Separatists." He toddled off toward the house with a smile and the Jedi waved awkwardly at the frightened woman.

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped." She sighed. "I'm Rosa Vanto," she said. "Please make yourselves at home while I prepare the meal."

"Thank you ma'am," Anakin said. "We didn't mean to impose."

"Oh, I know," she said. "Eli dragged you all the way here, didn't he?"

"Something like that."

"The boy is far too friendly with strangers, I keep telling you," Jeb said.

"He's just being polite. That's important too," Rosa rebutted. "I'd better go get started." She bustled up the steps with groceries in her hands.

Jeb nodded for the Jedi to follow and they entered the Vanto home just as dusk settled over it. 

Ahsoka turned back for a second, looking into the dark woods for something. A presence, she felt in the Force. Or rather, a lack of one. An emptiness.

"Not now, Snips," Anakin whispered to her. "Don't wanna scare these people."

"Yeah, you're right."

She closed the door behind her and stepped into the foyer as Eli rushed over to take her hand again.

"Come on, I'll show you around," he said eagerly, pulling her towards the living room. 

He also showed them the kitchen where his parents were cooking, the downstairs bathroom, the upstairs bathroom, the bedrooms and finally, his own room. He pushed them inside and closed the door.

"What's goin' on, buddy?" Anakin asked.

"You guys talked to Ranger Emiro, right?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"And what did he tell you?"

"That he doesn't want our help."

"Pff," Eli blew a raspberry. "That's what he said when I showed him this." 

He flicked on the rusty old holoprojector on his desk and it lit up with a map of the surrounding area.

"He probably showed you his _'map'."_ Eli made air quotation marks.

Anakin grinned. "He did. You saying yours is better?"

"I'm saying there _is_ something connecting the missing people." He tapped at the terminal on his desk but it didn't do as he instructed. "Aw gees."

Anakin walked over and took a look at the old device. He removed the top part of the casing and readjusted a few focusing crystals. Two wires were reconnected and suddenly the map was filled up with red dots.

"Wow, thanks," Eli said. "It's been doing that for ages."

"No problem."

"What are the red dots?" Ahsoka asked, looking over Eli's map. They seemed to be clustered around the wooded area bordering the Vanto property.

"These are locations the missing people visited within twenty two hours of their disappearance," Eli said. "We have a pretty big sensor array installed on our land. It projects a noise that keeps the critters away from our house. It also scans for life signs within a fifty kilometre radius."

"Convenient," Anakin said, looking at the map. "So all of the missing people visited the woods before disappearing later in the day."

"All the ones I could see with our sensor," Eli said. "Some of them were outside the radar but twelve out of twenty eight is enough to form a pattern."

Ahsoka studied the map. "Any particular reason they'd come out here?" 

"Plenty," Eli said. "Hunting. Runaway livestock. Passing by on the way to make deliveries. Bonaly even has its own junior ranger group."

"Let me guess. You're in that too."

"Not anymore." Eli shook his head. "Those guys are just posers. Dad and I have gone in there a few times and it's way more dangerous than anyone gives it credit."

"You're right about that," Ahsoka said darkly.

"Really? Are you getting a weird Jedi vibe? Is that bad?"

"Kinda," she said.

"So why are you so sure it's the Chiss behind the kidnappings?" Anakin asked.

"Because all of the missing people disappeared from their homes," Eli said. "Bonaly's not that big a town. We all know each other by name. You can't go somewhere without someone seein' you or knowin' about it."

"You never hang out on your own?" Ahsoka asked.

"No Lysatran does," Eli said. 

"So why the Chiss?"

"Cos that's their power," Eli explained. "They bite you and then you come to them."

"They _bite_ you?" Ahsoka raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yeah," he said. "They have these mega huge teeth." He turned to rummage in his desk and pulled out a bunch of crude drawings. "See?"

"Did you draw these?" Ahsoka giggled.

"That's not the point," he said, stuffing them back in the drawer. "Just look at the map. If the Chiss landed a few weeks ago when Dad and I saw their ship crash. They could be hiding out in the woods."

He pointed at the red markers.

"Ranger Emiro told us what you saw was just a meteorite, Eli."

The boy smirked. "He showed you the rock, didn't he?"

Ahsoka nodded.

"Well, did he show you this?" He rolled a piece of steel out from behind his desk.

It was the size of a small viewport on a starship, crumpled and missing several key pieces which would have held it together during its working days. A few jagged shards of glass stuck out of it, frosted and opaque.

"I'm not crazy," Eli said. "This is part of an alien starship, I know it."

Anakin leaned down and lifted the big chunk of debris to examine.

"This isn't durasteel," he said. "Too light." He flipped it over. "No rivets." His mechanical hand poked at the glass shards and the sound of scraping filled their ears. "This isn't transparisteel either."

"What do you think it is?" Ahsoka asked.

"Alien tech, probably."

Eli's eyes lit up and he opened his mouth to say-

"Doesn't mean it's the Chiss though," Anakin said quickly. "We're in Wild Space, on the edge of the Unknown Regions. Who knows what kind of aliens there are out here."

"Loads," Eli said. "And Dad's seen all of them and their ships up at the spaceport. But _this?"_ He pointed at the scrap metal in Anakin's hands. "He's got no clue."

"So you think the aliens crashed on Lysatra, somehow survived and are now hiding in the woods outside your house?"

"I know they are," Eli said. "You'll hear it. Tonight. You'll hear the screaming."

"Eli! Dinner!" they heard from below. "I made stew."

"My favourite," Eli said suddenly. "Come on."

They headed downstairs and found the table set for the Vantos plus two and though Jeb and Rosa weren't as keen on their visitors as their son, they did turn out to be more hospitable than the Jedi expected.

"How goes the war?" Jeb asked Anakin as they ate. "We don't get much news out here past the odd Holonet report."

"There's good and bad," Skywalker told him. "But the Supreme Chancellor is confident we can win as long as we have the Jedi and the clones on our side."

"You fight with them?" he asked. "The clones? Don't they all look the same?"

"Don't let _them_ hear that," Ahsoka chuckled. "They're as different as you and me."

"I thought clones were supposed to look the same," Eli said. "Isn't that the point?"

"They're all people, Eli," Ahsoka explained. "They all have their own thoughts and opinions."

"Loud opinions," Anakin agreed.

"Have they got names?" Eli asked.

"They're assigned a serial number," Ahsoka told him. "But it's such a mouthful to remember. We call them what they want to be called."

"Like what?"

"Well, the captain of Torrent Squad in the 501st is called Rex," Anakin said.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Suits him."

"CT-5555 is called Fives," Ahsoka joined in. 

"Cos of the fives?" Eli grinned.

"Yeah," Anakin said. "But there's Jesse, Kix, Hardcase, Tup, Cutup, Echo..."

"Names are easier to remember," Eli realised. "It's why the Confederacy is gonna lose. All they have are a bunch of droid serial numbers."

"And a lot more of them," Jeb pointed out. "It's easier to replace a droid than a Jedi or even a clone."

"You're right," Anakin nodded. "Which is why we're not here lightly. The Jedi are spread thin and if the Council thought this planet was important enough for us to come here then you'd better believe it too."

"The Council?" Eli asked.

"The Jedi Council decides what the Order's direction will be," Ahsoka explained. "It decided to fight alongside the Republic in the War."

"So you're just following orders?" Jeb said. "Same as the clones."

Anakin shook his head. "Jedi choose to fight. We protect the Republic and the citizens in it."

"What my husband means is that you're here because you were sent to deal with the Separatists. Otherwise, Lysatra would have gone another hundred years without seeing a Jedi, or a Republic ship for that matter."

"It is what it is," Anakin admitted. "We try to save everyone we can but..."

"It's war," Ahsoka finished for him. 

They ate their meal grimly and Eli helped clear the table, disappearing into the kitchen to help his mother clean up.

"I don't know how much he's told you about the missing people," Jeb said quietly. "But I would ask that you don't indulge him. He doesn't have any brothers or sisters and he's become fixated on the Chiss lately. It's unhealthy."

"Why is he so obsessed with them?" Ahsoka asked. "He seems bright enough to know better."

"We tell kids about the Chiss to scare 'em." Jeb sighed. "They're ghost stories our grandparents passed down to us. Y'know, blue people from the sky will come and eat you if you're naughty. But Eli..."

"He's not afraid," Ahsoka realised.

"Doesn't have enough fear in 'im." Jeb shook his head. "Hopefully, once he starts seeing the kinda things we see in our line of work, he'll be scared straight."

"Are you having trouble?" Anakin asked.

"Pirates, raiders, glorified tax collectors, you name it," Jeb said, drinking his liquor. "Half of it ends in aggressive negotiations if you know what I'm saying."

Anakin and Ahsoka exchanged knowing glances.

"Why not move away?" she asked. "You could sell what you've got here, buy yourself something in Mid Rim at least."

"Not enough to live on. I'd still have to keep the business. And the business is here. Even if it takes us to the Core sometimes." Jeb shrugged. "We know our place. And it's here."

"Over there, it's-" He thought about it and took a swig of his drink "- complicated."

Ahsoka shook her head. "I don't get it."

"I understand," Anakin said.

Jeb looked up at him with the same suspicious glint in his eye.

"I was a slave before the Jedi took me in," he admitted. "It follows you. Everywhere you go."

"I'm sorry," Jeb said, finishing his drink. "We're not slaves here but we see our fair share of them. And there's nothing the Republic can do about it."

"Time for presents," Rosa said, returning with Eli holding her hand.

"Hmm?" Jeb turned. "Oh, I'd better go get it." He climbed out of his seat and left the room.

Eli sat down at the table with a knowing grin on his face.

"Close your eyes," Rosa said.

And so he did but Ahsoka could see him sneaking a peak at his mother rummaging through a cupboard.

"Here you go, dear," she said, putting a large brown package down in front of him.

Eli opened his eyes and eagerly tore open the present, revealing an olive-coloured jacket with the Vanto Shipping Company logo sewn onto the breast. Beneath it was a plain white patch that said 'Eli'.

"My own jacket?" he said excitedly, threading his arms into the big sleeves.

"Since you're going to be helping your father at work from now on, you should look the part," Rosa said. "And you should always be warm." She pulled a scarf out from the bottom of the package and wrapped it around his neck.

"Thanks, mom," he said. "It's perfect."

Jeb returned with a silver case in his hands and put it down in front of him.

"Now, this is only because I trust you'll know when to use it," he said. "And so you'll be safe up at the spaceport if anything happens."

Eli nodded slowly at the cryptic words.

Jeb opened the case, revealing a small holdout firearm and a power pack.

"A blaster?!" Eli said excitedly. His hands eagerly reached into the case to pull it out. "It's amazing. Thanks, dad."

He jumped up to hug his parents. 

"Woah, watch where you point that thing, son." Jeb carefully readjusted Eli's grip.

"Can I go try it out, dad?" Eli begged. "Pleeease."

"It's getting late. You don't wanna be out after dark."

"Aaaw, c'mon. We can throw on the light panels."

"Son..."

"Pleeeease."

Jeb's face soured and his brow came down over his eyes, adding to the disapproval that was steadily mounting in his heart. But then Rosa took his arm.

"Let him have some fun," she said. "Perhaps the Jedi can watch him."

"Yeah," Eli agreed. "No one would mess with a Jedi. Not even the Chiss."

"It's no trouble," Anakin said. "If there's anything dangerous out there, we'll find it."

Ahsoka nodded.

Jeb reluctantly agreed and flipped a switch as they stepped outside. Two large light panels rose up out of the ground and switched on, brightening the field and even illuminating some of the forest.

The Lysatran showed his son how to load a blaster and how to shoot. It didn't take long for him to get the basics down and they set up some bottles to give him targets to practice on. Ahsoka sat down to meditate and levitated the bottles into the air to the young boy's delight.

They watched Eli shoot for a while with varying degrees of success. Eventually, his parents retired to their home, feeling he was safe and in capable hands. Anakin stood by the edge of the woods, searching the Force for a sign or a presence but there was nothing of interest to be found.

Eventually, Ahsoka grew drowsy and the bottles began drooping and dropping one by one.

"Ahsoka?" Eli asked. "Are you alri- ow!"

"What?" She sat up, searching for disturbances and finding only Eli scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "What happened?"

"One of the light bugs zapped me," he said. "They come out whenever we put the panels up."

"Oh," she calmed down. "Maybe we should go back inside?" She rubbed her eyes but then she heard it.

The wailing call, shrill and piercing and long. It stretched over the plain and Anakin was on his feet, lightsaber in hand before she knew it.

"What is it?"

"It's the sound," Eli said. "It's the Chiss."

Ahsoka pulled out her lightsabers and flicked them on, releasing the bright green blades.

"Go back inside," she told Eli.

"But-"

 _"Now,_ Eli," she insisted.

The boy pouted but did as he was told. Ahsoka heard the door closing behind him as the wailing screams continued, growing shorter, more rapid.

"What is that?" 

"Only one way to find out," Anakin said, igniting his lightsaber as he approached the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

They moved into the brush and the panels illuminating the Vanto property gradually faded from view. Lightsabers guided the way as the Jedi moved closer and closer toward the mysterious sound coming from deep inside the woods.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Ahsoka whispered, stepping on a branch which snapped under her feet.

Anakin kept walking, listening. 

The screams grew louder, shriller, yet still unrecognisable. And under the tumult, there were more noises the Jedi soon heard.

"Blasterfire," Anakin said and took off at a sprint.

Ahsoka followed, her sabers in an underhand grip.

They raced through the woods and soon the sound of blasterfire became as clear as the wailing screams.

"I'll come in from the front," Anakin called out as they neared a clearing. "Flank them."

Ahsoka darted right and Anakin leapt out of the bushes, lightsaber raised and ready for a fight but there was no one out there in front of him. 

He ran forward a bit further and the sound of blasterfire and screeching became deafening, like he was in the middle of a battlefield. He closed his eyes and felt the Force around him, the energy flying through the air. Blaster bolts. And something else, something odd and cold.

"SOTO MIREI!" someone shouted and Anakin was tackled to the ground, rolling away just as a projectile swooped past his head.

The blast caught an innocent tree unawares and burned it to a crisp along with everything a hundred metres behind it.

Anakin scrambled to his feet alongside the stranger who'd tackled him and turned to look for the source of the blast but there was nothing in sight. The stranger in black picked up his firearm and ducked as he ran forward, disappearing like a ghost right in front of him.

Anakin raised his lightsaber and ignited it once more.

"Ahsoka!" he called out. "They have a stealth field generator."

"Now you tell me," her voice drifted over from the other side of the clearing through the screaming and the blasterfire.

Anakin trusted in the Force and ran straight ahead into the seemingly empty landscape but then, everything appeared all at once. 

He was behind a line of humanoid warriors armoured in lacquered black. Their rifles shot blue pulsing bolts like blasters at an enemy horde of creatures the Jedi couldn't identify.

Shaped like droids but covered in organic tissue, they advanced with awkward steps, shooting projectiles that screamed as they raced through the air. 

In the centre of the clearing sat a gargantuan flesh coloured mass with what appeared to be a humanoid alien sticking out. Its face was grotesque and covered in scars, nose cut down to the bone.

The creature opened its mouth and roared. Blue bolts fizzled through the air and seared its flesh to little effect. In fact, it seemed rather pleased and from its mouth spewed forth a hundred tiny bugs which fell to the ground and scuttled towards the black warriors.

"Pfir'sah segei!" one of them shouted and the others threw down a line of portable energy shields which sprouted into a bright blue barrier.

Anakin threw up his hand and the Force flowed through it, pushing back the horde of bugs scuttling his way but the organic creatures walking towards them didn't slow. 

The tiny bugs began to combust and damage the enemy which Anakin jumped over the shield to engage. His lightsaber connected with the first and carved it in half. Inside, he could see the mangled chassis of a Super Battle Droid but he didn't have time to stop and look at it.

He rushed across the battlefield, slicing at the strange living droids that fell one by one and out of the corner of his eye, he could see a flash of green lightsabers doing the same nearby. 

There was a break in the wave and Anakin summoned the Force, projecting it toward the giant fleshy creature. A wave rippled through the air, pushing its minions back but the writhing mass of flesh only grunted at him. The droid meat puppets stepped forward again and one was hit by a bright blue bolt, its fleshy coating melted by the blow.

Ignoring the Force, Anakin turned his own body into a weapon and let his lightsaber do the work. He cut the enemy to pieces, inching closer to the massive alien beast that grunted and coughed out words he couldn't understand. It had no presence. It had no existence in the Force and he didn't like it.

He was almost at its side when it opened its huge mouth again, spewing forth the tiny bugs he knew would explode upon contact. 

Anakin jumped back.

"Master." Ahsoka caught up to him. "It's the fire bugs again."

"Verisi!" they heard from the armoured men. "K'reuro! Ch'tra!"

The energy field generators powered down and the soldiers retreated, dispersing into the remaining cover of the forest. One of them beckoned to the Jedi and they quickly followed. 

A soldier with a rocket launcher stepped out from cover and lobbed a silver grenade straight into the maw of the massive alien creature just as the first beetles began emerging from its mouth.

It erupted in a swathe of blue light and ignited all the fire bugs spilling out, triggering a fiery detonation of organic matter. 

The Jedi dove behind a large boulder to avoid it and Anakin threw up a shield of Force energy to lessen the impact, weathering the explosion with Ahsoka at his side.

There was fire for a moment. Heat and then smoke. And when they emerged from cover, the awful creature was gone. The ground was black and charred. And any trace of their mysterious enemy was destroyed.

Anakin stood and helped Ahsoka to her feet. He swivelled his head, searching for the men in black but there was no trace of them in the clearing, no trail to follow.

"Where'd they go?" Ahsoka asked, brushing the dust off her robes.

"I don't know," Anakin said, clipping his lightsaber back onto his belt.

"What was that?" Ahsoka walked over to the black skid mark on the ground.

Anakin's brow furrowed and he folded his arms.

"It had no presence in the Force," he said quietly. "I couldn't feel it, even though it was right in front of me."

"But how is that possible? Everything has some kind of Force energy." Ahsoka reached out her hand and levitated a stone off the ground. "Even this rock."

"Not this creature." Anakin knelt down to touch the ground where it had stood. He tried to feel what it had been, what it was, but again, he felt an eerie echo of emptiness in the all encompassing Force of the universe and it unnerved him greatly.

"Master?" Ahsoka called out. "Look."

She picked up a scorched droid head, dripping with melted organic waste and levitated it.

"The smaller ones have droid parts inside them."

Anakin walked over and plucked it out of mid-air, flipping and rotating the hunk of metal in his hands. 

"This is solid," he said, tapping the steel. "Piece of a Super Battle Droid, covered in... something." The charred flesh turned to ash in his hands.

"Does that mean the Separatists are here?" Ahsoka asked suddenly.

Anakin looked over the clearing again with wary eyes.

"I think it means they _were_ here," he said. 

A whisper of wind swept over the trees and Anakin looked up at the stars that were fading into the brightening sky.

"We should go see if the Vantos are okay," Ahsoka said. 

"Yeah, maybe they picked up something on their scanners that might explain why we couldn't sense these creatures."

"What about the soldiers?"

"No, they definitely have a presence."

"Was it that cold energy I felt?" 

"Yeah," Anakin said. "They're not Human."

"You think they could be Chiss?"

"They could be any number of aliens, Ahsoka."

"Eli's not going to think so."

Anakin shrugged. 

"Come on. Maybe Artoo can pull something off this droid's vibrobrain."

The Jedi trekked back to the Vanto ranch through the scorched woods in silence. Their mood was solemn as they contemplated what they had seen and felt and not felt. A confused blur of a battle, as to be expected of war and both of them were used it to it by now. But still, the galaxy managed to surprise them.

Eventually, the scrub and the trees thinned out and they once again entered the plain upon which the Vanto home stood. There were no animals grazing on the pasture, no birds flying overhead. Unsurprising but still unsettling. However, the light panels had been left on.

"Looks like they waited up," Ahsoka said as they walked up to the house.

"Guess they're warming up to us." Anakin tried a grin to brighten the mood.

They walked up the steps and opened the front door as the early morning light began to dawn. Inside they found Jeb and Rosa in the sitting room, asleep in adjacent armchairs, hands clasped gently.

"Mr and Mrs Vanto?" Anakin walked in.

They broke out of slumber and there was some yawning between them before either opened their eyes.

"Hmm?" Jeb grumbled. "You're back?"

"Eli said you ran off into the woods," Rosa said worriedly.

"We did," Anakin replied. "We followed the sounds you've been hearing every night. There was a battle." He showed them the droid head.

Jeb looked at it grimly.

"So that's it, then?" he said. "The Clone Wars have reached Lysatra."

"Not necessarily," Anakin said. "We found this covered in skin or some kind of organic shell. And there was an alien I'd never seen before. It was controlling them, I think."

"We didn't actually see any Separatists," Ahsoka admitted. "Unless you count the black soldiers."

"The black soldiers?" Rosa said.

"Yes, there were at least eight of them." Anakin rubbed his chin. "Humanoid but they were wearing armour and helmets that covered their faces."

"So someone's out there on our property having a blasterfight and we couldn't see or hear it?"

"They have stealth field generators," Ahsoka pointed out.

"What about the sound?"

"I'm not sure," Anakin said. "We were wondering if we could take a look at your scanners."

"Of course," Jeb nodded. "The control console is out the back." He pointed. "Though Eli can operate it better than I can."

"Where is he?" Ahsoka asked worriedly.

"Oh, we sent him off to bed as soon as he came in. Promised we'd wait for you to return."

Anakin nodded. 

"Follow me." Jeb led the Jedi out the back entrance of his house where the plains continued. Slowly but surely, animals were returning to the landscape, though far less enthusiastically. 

Vanto showed them the sensor array that protruded from the ground much like the sky hook in the distance but this one ended in a rather large dish several metres in the air. Jeb tapped at the rusty old console, trying to bring up an image but the tech had been battered by winds and time. 

"Kriffin' junk," Jeb mumbled under his breath.

Anakin walked up behind him.

"Let me give you a hand."

Jeb sighed and reluctantly released the console to Anakin who quickly found the root of the problem and tightened a screw with his mechanical hand in lieu of a hydrospanner.

"There." He clapped the grit off his hands. "That should do it."

The scanner blipped and lit up with markings delineating a map of its effective area. Anakin input the approximate time of their encounter in the woods and sure enough, a whole lot of brightly coloured dots appeared. 

"Looks like you were right," Jeb said, inspecting the monitor. "Multiple life signs. Look at the size of that one." He pointed.

"That must be the creature that exploded," Ahsoka reasoned. "Which means these smaller dots are the droids and soldiers."

"Droids don't have life signs." Jeb shook his head.

"These ones did," Anakin confirmed. "Looks like the soldiers broke off into two groups before the battle." They watched the dots drift away as the scanner cycled through time.

"Why would they do that?" Ahsoka asked. 

"They're heading toward the house," Jeb pointed out.

"While these guys hold the line."

"They're going a lot faster than the other guys, they must be on a speeder." Anakin folded his arms.

"They're coming right up to the house," Jeb said worriedly as the blips approached. 

"You didn't hear anything last night?"

"No. We stayed up as long as we could, it was all quiet."

"So quiet you fell asleep?"

"Yeah," Jeb worried. 

The blips on the map stopped beside the marker for the Vanto home and lingered for a minute. Two.

"What are they doing?" Ahsoka said quizzically.

Then Jeb started. "Eli's bedroom is on that side of the house!"

He left the console and broke into a sprint toward the back door. The Jedi followed. 

"Oh my-" Rosa uttered as they ran in. "What's going on?"

"Eli!" Jeb shouted, running up the stairs, two at a time.

There came no reply and as soon as he reached the door, he wrenched it open and ran in followed by Anakin and Ahsoka.

They found the room in much the same condition as the day before. The old holoterminal lay dormant on the desk, a mangled viewport leaned against the side. But flimsi drawings littered the floor and the bed covers were thrown open and empty.

"No," Jeb uttered, falling to his knees. "No."

"Eli?" Ahsoka called out cautiously.

Anakin stepped up to the window and leaned on the sill to stick his head out. Nothing but the dusty plain and the occasional patch of grass stretched out as far as the eye could see. No speeder marks or hover trails to follow.

"He's gone," Anakin said, feeling the boy's absence in the Force.

"I don't feel him either." Ahsoka shivered. "How could we not notice?"

"They took my son," Jeb whispered. "I was right here..."

Rosa entered the room and beheld the scene. "What's going on? What-" She walked over to the empty bed. "Eli?"

Jeb got up and put his arm around her. "They took him, Rosa."

"No." Her hands clasped over her face. "Not Eli."

"There has to be something on the scanners," Anakin said angrily and stormed out of the room. 

Ahsoka stayed to console the Vantos without much luck and her master returned soon with little more.

"Speeder headed north west," he said. "If we leave now we can-"

"It's too late." Jeb shook his head. "They've had enough time to get him offworld. We're never gonna see him again."

"What do you mean? We're gonna find him. Don't worry." Ahsoka said.

"It's hopeless." Rosa sniffed.

"Why are you so sure?" Anakin asked suspiciously.

Jeb sighed. "Because we know who's been kidnapping people."

"What?" Ahsoka broke off. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It's not your concern. You can't stop them."

"Who?"

Rosa shook her head. "The slavers."

"You said you didn't have slavers here."

"We don't," Rosa sobbed. "They come from offworld. They take a few people and they leave. That's how it's always been."

"You should have told us," Anakin said angrily, his hands balling into fists. "I would have-" He gritted his teeth.

"Master?"

"We need to go back to Bonaly," he said finally. 

Jeb lost a hand inside his pocket and found the keys to his speeder-van.

"We'll go too."


	4. Chapter 4

Morning settled over the small town of Bonaly as the speeder-van touched down in front of the ranger station. Rosa and Jeb mournfully made their way over to the noticeboard and pinned a flimsi poster of Eli alongside the others. Several of the townsfolk walked over to console the Vantos as the Jedi stormed into the ranger station.

Anakin slammed the head of a Super Battle Droid onto Emiro's desk.

"Hey, watch it," the man complained over his spilled caf.

"Separatists," Anakin growled. "Slavers."

Emiro looked up at him placidly.

"I don't know nothin' 'bout any Separatists or slavers in Bonaly." He sipped at his mug.

"No?" Anakin said, his hand raised and Emiro choked on his caf.

He spluttered and coughed and wheezed.

"Master," Ahsoka butt in. "We need this sleemo to talk."

Anakin released his grip on the Force and the ranger's throat miraculously opened allowing him to breathe in gasps.

"The Vantos' son was taken last night," Anakin growled. "What do you know about it?"

"Nothin'," Emiro sputtered. "It's the first I'm hearin' about it."

"Then why are they so sure that slavers kidnapped their son?" Ahsoka folded her arms.

"They don't know what they're talking about," Emiro said. "There's no slavers in Bonaly."

"Tell us where to find them," Ahsoka said stiffly. 

The ranger wheezed and sat up. He raised his head and gave them each a contemptuous look.

"Might be there was a group movin' through Lysatra called the Harrowed Hand." His eyes glinted with cunning. "S'all I know."

Anakin lurched forward and grabbed Emiro by the collar, raising him up off the ground.

"How much are they paying you?"

"More than the Republic," Emiro spat. "More than this hellhole of a town could ever afford."

"Enough to steal children and sell them off like cattle?"

"Don't look at me like that, Master Jedi." Emiro grinned. "The Republic knows who we have to deal with. Half the spaceport is trafficking sentients. But you'd all rather debate each other down in the Core."

"Where are they?" Anakin shook him, his voice a roar.

The confident smirk on Emiro's face faded away.

"Valincar Gulch," he said. 

And Anakin dropped him on the desk.

"Thank you for your assistance," he said and walked out, followed by Ahsoka.

The door slammed shut behind them and the Jedi crossed the street through the crowd which had formed to console the Vantos over Eli's disappearance. 

"Should we tell them?" Ahsoka asked, looking at Rosa pitifully. 

But Anakin turned away, a certain woman from Tatooine on his mind. Down the street he could see two droid shaped silhouettes approaching and bickering in binary. Three Pee-Oh was holding a box in his hands.

"Where have you two been?" Ahsoka asked when they were close enough.

"Why Mistress Tano, we went looking for a birthday cake for young Eli. Unfortunately, we ran into a few troubles along the way."

"Eli's been kidnapped," Anakin said.

"Oh my, how terrible," Three Pee-Oh vocabulated.

Artoo followed with an incomprehensible series of beeps and screeches.

"This has nothing to do with my cooking skills," the protocol droid said stiffly.

"Artoo," Anakin said. "I need you to see if you can pull anything out of this droid's vibrobrain." He leaned down and presented the steel plated head, dataport up.

The little blue astromech beeped in acknowledgement and protracted its dataspike straight into the port. There was some whirring and processing sounds before it started beeping again.

"Nothing?" Anakin asked. "Are you sure? Check again."

"You think those aliens could have wiped the data?" Ahsoka asked.

"Maybe."

"You think Emiro knows about them?"

"All he knows is how to line his own pockets," Anakin grit his teeth. "I could feel as much through the Force."

"So he doesn't know anything about the Separatist Battle Droids that just _happened_ to show up in Bonaly?" Ahsoka said.

"They were covered in something," Anakin remembered. "They weren't the droids we've fought before."

"We should contact Master Windu."

"No. First, we find these slavers before Eli's trail goes cold."

"What about the Council? Shouldn't we tell them the Separatists are here."

"We don't know if they _are_ here." Anakin shook his head. "All we know for sure is that Eli is missing and there are slavers in Valuncar Gulch. That's where we start."

"Okay but how do we get there? You think Mr Vanto knows where it is?"

Anakin looked at the Lysatrans all huddled up in a sad little group outside the ranger station. Rosa was weeping again, as she had all the way into town. Jeb was holding onto her tightly.

His eyes drifted toward the posters and the station entrance and settled on the speeders parked out front.

"I have an idea."


	5. Chapter 5

Valuncar Gulch wasn't far from Bonaly or Gyza or Titrano according to the co-ordinates. It was right between three small towns which had very little to offer the average trader but the group camping inside the stony walls of the canyon were anything but.

Brutish aliens, a head taller and two heads wider than the average Human guarded the camp. Their skin was scaled and brown and behind their backs were long electro-staves while their hands were occupied with blaster rifles.

Anakin pulled up not far from their approach and stepped out of the ranger's speeder. Ahsoka left the passenger seat and the droids bumbled out onto the dusty cliff, silenced by Anakin's liplocked finger.

The Jedi snuck up to the edge of the cliff and lay down to spy on the slavers' camp as it stretched out beneath them. There were several large cages interspersed with contrastly luxurious travel tents and Ahsoka pulled out a pair of macrobinoculars to check them out.

"I can't see Eli," she told Anakin.

"I can't feel him, either," he said. "What about the other missing people?"

Ahsoka looked carefully into each of the cages where multiple frightened Lysatrans were huddled together.

"I see a few," she said. "Three in the cage up there. And two below us."

"No sign of the others?"

Ahsoka shook her head.

"Mr Vanto said they took them offworld. Maybe they're already gone?"

"Only one way to find out." Anakin stood up and cast a long shadow over the gulch. His lightsaber found his hand and he leapt off the steep cliff, igniting it as he fell.

The blue blade erupted from the hilt and sliced through the cage door directly beneath him, deactivating the energy field.

"Mraagh!" one of the guards growled and turn to fire on the Jedi.

The red bolts blazed through the air and Anakin dodged and ducked and deflected as more and more of the huge aliens attacked. They ran at him in droves and some drew electro-staves to fight him directly but none could match the Jedi's strength or speed.

He raised his hand and felt the Force running through him. And this time, he could feel his enemy. A wave of energy knocked them off their feet and they crashed down on the ground with a thump, echoing through the gulch.

Ahsoka landed behind him and raced under and up and over the brutish aliens, stepping off them like stairs. She quickly reached the second cage and slashed through the lock and the generator, releasing the captive Lysatrans who huddled up worriedly as more guards poured in.

They came from both sides of the gulch and assaulted the Jedi with no sign of remorse before one of the fancy tents flapped open and a reptilian gentleman in a silken robe stepped out.

The slitted eyes on his green scaly face blinked sideways and he hissed something in a tongue neither Jedi recognised but the guards did. They disengaged from the battle and a few hissed something back.

"You," the reptilian man said, pointing at Anakin with one of his clawed fingers. "Jediii," he hissed.

Anakin did not lower his lightsaber.

"What are you doing here?" the slaver spoke with a thick lisp and a forked tongue escaped his mouth for a second.

"We're here for the Lysatrans," Anakin said. "This is a Republic world. Slavery is illegal here."

"Really?" the scaly mouth hissed into what resembled a smile. "Why I had no idea."

Anakin's expression was not one of mercy or understanding.

"I am Fysszix Siroxis III," the slaver introduced himself with a deep bow. "On my honour, I will release these Humans on the condition that you allow my troupe to leave Lysatra unharmed."

"A slaver has no honour." Anakin looked at the children in the cage nearby.

"Perhapss," Fysszix sneered. "But I say this in good faith. These Humans aren't worth the lives of my bodyguards."

Anakin grit his teeth but then Ahsoka touched his arm.

"We're looking for a boy," she said. "Human, brown hair, brown eyes. This tall." She held up her hand. "Have you seen him?"

"You are welcome to inspect my stock," Fysszix told her. "I bought all the right permits from the constabulary upon arrival. I, however, do not concern myself with the task of collection. That is what I pay these men for."

Ahsoka frowned. 

"Did they go to Bonaly last night?" she asked quietly, holding back Anakin's hand.

"No, I believe they were hunting in Titrano," Fysszix told them. "They went through Bonaly last week."

"How many did they take?"

"Half a dozen, maybe."

"Maybe?" Anakin growled.

"As I said, I do not concern myself with-" His serpentine tongue flickered for a moment and he turned his head, the long neck extending significantly higher.

Fysszix hissed something at his guards.

"What did he say?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't know," Anakin frowned. "Where's Three Pee-Oh when you need him?"

"I said the flesh warriors are coming."

"Who?"

But Fysszix did not elaborate. He turned tail and disappeared inside his tent which the guards folded into a palanquin and carried away. The brutish aliens began packing up camp, oblivious to the freed slaves who were still cowering within their cages.

"Master," Ahsoka turned to Anakin. "Flesh warriors."

"The droids from last night." Anakin nodded.

The ground beneath their feet began to rumble and the sound of distant feet marching filled their ears.

"They're coming from the east," Ahsoka said.

"Get everyone out of here, Snips. I'll hold them off." Anakin walked off despite everyone else making a very quick exit in the opposite direction.

"Master!"

"Get those people to safety, Ahsoka," he repeated over his shoulder.

She hesitated for a moment but then nodded and turned to coral the terrified Lysatrans out of the gulch. They were reluctant to leave but as the tremors grew stronger so did their resolve to follow her.

"Let's go! Come on!" she shouted over the growing noise.

They ran as fast as they could and Ahsoka followed. The sound of rocket boosters came down from above and Artoo landed with a clunk beside Ahsoka, wheeling his way behind the crowd.

An equally loud thud sounded somewhere behind Anakin as the tremors continued and the body of gold-plated droid broke into several pieces on the canyon floor.

"Master Anakin, thank goodness you're alright."

"Three Pee-Oh?" Anakin turned back for a moment.

"I'm afraid my chassis may be malfunctioning, sir."

"Hold on, I'll fix you up after this," Anakin promised and ran off toward the sound of oncoming enemies.

He turned a corner and there they were, marching in time like the clockwork droids he was used to fighting but coated in an eerie skin that did little to protect them from his lightsaber. He sliced through them without much difficulty, dismembering several with each swing of the plasma sword in his hand.

The enemy droids marching through the gulch stretched into the distance but there was no sign of a leader or fleshy alien creature as before. There were no fire bugs to contend with, only the seemingly endless horde of droids shooting screaming missiles from their hand cannons, echoing through the gulch. And Anakin fought it head on.

The Force did not aid his plight but strengthened his body as he took down the enemy blow by blow. He sheered through metal and seared through flesh, rendering them useless in all respects. Regardless, they pressed forward and Anakin soon ran out of room to move. 

He took a step back and his foot collided with steel.

"We're doomed," Three Pee-Oh whimpered pitifully from the ground.

"Not yet," Anakin said, using the Force to lift a large boulder beside him.

The huge rock rose off the ground and rocketed toward the fleshy droid creatures, crushing several beneath its girth. Encouraged, Anakin turned and found more boulders to lift and throw at the incoming horde. He strained under the weight of the cages used to contain the slaves but the Force flowed through him, strong and sure.

Slowly, the pileup of dead droids and debris became too tall for the enemy to clear, forcing them to shoot through it. Anakin pushed the tangible objects forward with the Force, trying to form a barricade. The sound of screeching followed as hand cannons fired into the barrier. And then he heard a word.

 **"Inah!"** it echoed through the canyon and at its command, the very walls shook.

Anakin took a step back as an explosion detonated somewhere in the distance and a deafening crash followed in its wake. The walls of the gulch shuddered and rumbled and rocks began to dislodge and fall, crushing several droids beneath it.

Anakin let go of the barricade and took another a step back. He could feel something coming, something approaching, fast. And the Force told him to run.

He tossed Three Pee-Oh's broken parts into a forgotten tarp and slung it over his shoulder before bolting the other way.

He could hear screaming bolts hissing into the pile of debris behind him, overshadowed by the low rumble echoing through the canyon. It grew louder and louder, roaring, rushing and then it smashed into the barrier.

The ground beneath Anakin's feet shook, the dusty floor sprayed with water, beating against the barricade, drowning out the screech of hand cannons and the creak of fleshy droids. It spilled into the gulch, turning the ground soft and wet and difficult to traverse but the Jedi persisted.

He ran through the canyon as water leaked through the boulders and cages and broken droid chassis' until it spilled over the top, sloshing onto the ground and making the terrain even more difficult. Anakin followed the winding path through the canyon, looking for a way up or out but all he found was a fork in the road. And as soon as he turned right, the barrier holding back the multitude of water was broken and it burst forth in a powerful torrent, flooding Valuncar Gulch.

It swept him of his feet and Anakin struggled to stay afloat as the massive wave rushed through the canyon. He tried to grab on to an outcrop of rock but it crumbled in his hands and then he caught a handhold in the stone, feeling his body lurch as water pushed him forward. The vice grip of his mechanical hand held fast against the torrent but then the brittle stone snapped and he was whisked away.

The water sent him reeling left and right and up and down, submerged beneath the flood, breathing in gasps as he came up for air. But even the Force couldn't stop it and as he reached for the surface once again, the back of his head hit something hard and the world seemed to fade away, somewhere into darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Ahsoka herded the Lysatrans left and up out of the canyon as the ground began to quake. A boy tripped while scaling the steep cliff but she caught his hand before he could fall and pulled him up to safety.

She hurried them along, feeling the tremors worsen and then a distant explosion sounded like a clap of thunder. It echoed through the canyon and Ahsoka sensed the danger coming like a wave washing over her. She urged the Lysatrans up the final part of the steep rise and they emerged above the Valincar Gulch, overlooking the snaking canyon that stretched into the distance.

And there it was. The wave. Rushing towards them, crushing everything in its path. The army of flesh covered droids was smashed to pieces, every construct colliding with one another, building up against a barrier of stone until it could hold no more. 

Water rolled over it and swallowed the obstacle, flooding through the gulch beneath their feet. 

Ahsoka watched the water rise, searching desperately for any sign of Anakin. Artoo landed beside her using his rocket thrusters and beeped worriedly.

"I know Artoo, but it's Anakin. If anyone could survive that..." She stared at the water.

"At least we survived," said a bedraggled looking woman. "Thank you, Master Jedi," she said. "Thank you for saving my family."

Ahsoka turned to see the boy she'd saved and his parents and siblings. Close to fifty people had been taken from their homes by the callous slavers, bound for foreign worlds and hard labour. But no longer.

"You're welcome," Ahsoka said. 

"I'm sorry about your friend," the woman told her.

"Don't worry." She shrugged. "He has a way of surviving the unsurvivable."

Artoo beeped optimistically and bounced from one magnaped to the other.

"What is it Artooie?" Ahsoka asked. "Slow down, I don't understand."

The droid kept whistling and tootling, trying to describe what its sensors were picking up but it went straight over her head.

"We have to find a way back to town," she said and Artoo stopped whirring, defeated.

"We could probably make it back to Titrano on foot," the woman said. "It's not far now. A couple of hours maybe." She pointed in the direction of the small town.

"Are you sure?" Ahsoka asked worriedly. "Are you alright to travel?"

"I think I hurt my leg," an older man said, rubbing it tersely. "I won't make it to Titrano."

"We'll have to split up then," Ahsoka decided. "Artoo, go to Titrano with these people and ask for help. Anyone that isn't up for the journey will stay here with me until we can arrange transport."

There was a murmur of agreement and Artoo expressed his buzzing disapproval over leaving Ahsoka behind but she stubbornly insisted.

"What kind of droid doesn't take orders?" an old Lysatran said.

"Anakin Skywalker's droid," Ahsoka sighed, watching Artoo scoot away into the distance.

They sat down to wait and Ahsoka shared the singular canteen of water she possessed with the parched Lysatrans. She looked out over the water filled gulch, searching for signs of her master and closed her eyes, searching even further, through the Force.

There was a faint heartbeat. She could feel it, drifting away. Anakin's energy wasn't something a trained Force Sensitive could miss, even at a distance. And she quietly worried about his fate, satisfied for the moment in the knowledge, that he was alive.

\---

Artoo returned, several hours later, with a caravan of confused and aggravated Lysatrans who barely understood binary. The woman that volunteered to guide the refugees back to Titrano came with them and brought food and water and blankets and clothes for the poor people who were still unsure about the prospect of their escape.

"I still can't believe we're free," Lyza said gratefully, handing Ahsoka a canteen.

"We would have come sooner if we'd known," she said. "My master had to shake it out of Ranger Emiro after Eli Vanto went missing in Bonaly this morning."

"Oh no." Lyza shook her head, boarding the speeder-van. "He's such a nice boy. His parents must be devastated."

"You haven't seen him, have you?"

"No, I'm afraid Fysszix wasn't lying. Eli Vanto never made it to the camp, at least as far as we know."

"I just can't believe this still happens," Ahsoka said quietly as the van hovered off the ground and took off. "I mean, Lysatra is part of the Republic, right?"

Lyza frowned as she wrapped a warm blanket around a young girl's shoulders.

"We are," she said, "and we aren't."

Ahsoka looked up at her curiously.

"We share a tongue and laws and calenders but it's the distance," Lyza explained. "Tatooine is closer to Coruscant than we are."

"I see." Ahsoka swallowed. "I wish there was something I could do."

Lyza sat down beside her and put a hand on her knee.

"End the Clone Wars," she said. "And come visit us again."

"I will," she promised. "I will."

\---

Titrano was a bigger town than Bonaly. Where the latter formed a single strip on the wide open plains of Lysatra, the town of Titrano resembled a great big ring. The same plain warehouse-like buildings encircled the main road and in the centre was big park where primitive playground equipment stood empty.

The caravan of speeders drove in and touched down in the centre of town, opening doors to reveal the occupants inside. Lysatrans appeared teary-eyed to greet the missing people with hugs and laughter. Warm embraces and family reunions took place in the town circle and Ahsoka smiled warmly as some of them included her in the celebration.

"Do you have anywhere to stay, child?" Lyza asked worriedly as the crowd began to disperse. 

"Uh, no. Not really," Ahsoka shrugged, thinking about the dusty room in Bonaly Ranger Emiro had provided. 

"You should stay with us," Lyza said.

"That's very kind but I'd like to speak to the Ranger of this town first."

"Savvi?" Lyza said, wincing. "Alright." She sighed. "The Ranger Station is just over there." She pointed it out. "But once you're done, I want you to come straight to these coordinates." She slipped a data crystal into her hand.

"I will. Thank you," Ahsoka nodded. "Come on, Artoo."

They walked through the centre of town, eerie and empty in broad daylight, playground equipment creaking in the wind. Artoo cooed something apprehensively in binary.

"Yeah, not too lively in this town either," Ahsoka commented, brushing the dust off her robes as they approached the Ranger Station.

It was identical to the one in Bonaly except that its walls were plastered with all the Missing Persons posters that didn't fit on the billboard outside. Ahsoka walked up the steps, recognizing a few faces and Artoo followed her up a nearby ramp.

She took a deep breath to still her thinking and quiet her emotions but all she found inside were rage and disgust.

 _"That's not very helpful,"_ she thought as she pushed the door open.

Inside was the same drab looking ranger station, dark and bestrewn with desks, only one of which was manned. Behind it sat a very overweight man, asleep in his own drool. The sealing strip on his shirt was close to bursting and the seams under his arms already had.

"Uh, excuse me," Ahsoka said, waving a hand in front him.

A mighty snore emanated from the man's open mouth and Ahsoka winced.

"Excuse me," she said a lot louder this time, provoking the Ranger into a loud snort. But he didn't wake, smacking his lips before dosing off once again.

Ahsoka looked down at his desk. It was covered with flimsi packaging, missing the foodstuffs which would usually be found within. She eyed the small pyramid of energy pudding cups and frowned. The plaque on the desk read "Ranger Domut Savvi".

"Ranger Savvi?" Ahsoka tried again. "HELLO?!"

The snoring was interrupted and the man coughed loudly again, this time his beady brown eyes opened to look at her with contempt.

"What is it? Who are you?" he fired off the bat. _"What_ are you?" he said, squinting in Ahsoka's direction.

"My name is Ahsoka Tano," she said more calmly than she felt. "I'm a Padawan of the Jedi Order and my Master has gone missing."

"Jedi?" Savvi laughed a snorty chortle. "Ain't no Jedi on Lysatra." He grinned.

"We just arrived yesterday."

"That so?" the ranger said, his grubby hands searching the table for a yet unconsumed packet of food. "And one of you's already missing? How unfortunate."

"Yes," Ahsoka said, "I'd like to find him. And everyone else that's mysteriously disappeared on Lysatra."

"Would you now?" Savvi asked condescendingly. His fat fingers found a plastopac of dehydrated vomba chips and he popped it open to rummage inside. "Don't know anythin' 'bout these mysteriously disappeared folk, Miss Jedi."

"Really?" Ahsoka said, folding her arms. "Because I happened to find quite a few of them in a slaver's camp early today."

Surprise caught Savvi unawares and he choked on the vomba chip lodged in his throat, coughing loudly and painfully to get it out.

"Care to comment?" Ahsoka asked flatly.

"That's, uh, real swell o' you, Miss Jedi. Just, uh," he fumbled for his comlink, "gotta make, uh, few calls..."

Ahsoka lifted her hand and the comlink flew off the table and into her grasp.

"Do you now?" she said. "I've got a few calls I'd like to make too. But I want answers first."

"I don't know nuthin' 'bout it. I swear," Savvi held his hands up in surrender. 

Ahsoka crushed the comlink in her hand and let the pieces fall to the floor.

"Did you give the slavers permission to take people from your town?" she asked tersely.

"I, uh, well, uh... y'see, there's this loophole in the town charter..."

A bright green blade ignited from the end of her lightsaber as she pointed at the fat man behind the desk.

"Answer the question, sleemo."

"Y-yeah, yeah, I did," Savvi squealed. "They offered a bunch of credits and I figured we didn't need so many people in town, y'know? They're always complainin' about wantin' to get offworld, see?"

Ahsoka's face hardened.

"Who paid you to look the other way?"

Savvi gulped loudly and raised his hands up in surrender.

"I-it was Jury," he said. "He runs the whole thing up at the spaceport. I just did what he told me, I swear."

Ahsoka concentrated the Force, listening for the man's heartbeat, his mind, his emotions. But he wasn't lying. She lowered her lightsaber and sheathed it.

"How many slaver troupes are on Lysatra right now?"

"I don't know. They call themselves the Harrowed Hand. They come and take people every few months and go."

"It ends," Ahsoka told him. "Today."

"I can't really-"

Ahsoka ignited her lightsaber again.

"No more slavers. Not in the Republic."

"Y-yes, yes, of course. But you'll uh... have to talk to Jury about the rest of the planet. All I got's this town here."

Ahsoka lowered her lightsaber again.

"Fine," she said, rubbing her eyes. "But I still need help to find my master."

"Oh, I can help you with that," Savvi said slyly, pulling a blaster out from under his desk. But before he could fire, a pulse of electricity rattled his body as Artoo shoved a prod into his backside.

The girthy ranger toppled onto his desk, spilling the many empty food packages and Artoo bleeped angrily.

"Yeah, what a piece of work," Ahsoka agreed. "C'mon, Artooie. Let's go catch some bad guys."


	7. Chapter 7

Anakin woke up with a nasty migraine and a strange mask clinging to his face. It pushed air in and out of his lungs, reanimating his aching body as he steadily regained consciousness.

He opened his eyes, squinting through the brightness of an eerie white light and pulled the mask off. It was difficult to breath but he let the Force in, helping him open the airways of his waterlogged lungs.

The battered Jedi groaned as he tried to sit up, rubbing his temple. His head was covered in bandages and his robes were missing, replaced by an odd looking hospital gown.

"W-where-" he managed to say before everything came in to focus.

Two glowing red eyes appeared before him, blood-spattered teeth gnashing menacingly beneath. The Force gathered in Anakin's hand and he pushed it outward, sending the creature flying away from him.

"Stay back," he said, sitting upright.

The rest of the room revealed itself. Long and curving, lined with beds and walled with a pearlescent black sheen. Many more Humans and aliens lay hospitalized around him and the sound of a scuffle brought several soldiers in black laminate rushing into the room.

They circled the bed, silver rifles pointed at him and with their helmets removed, Anakin could see that they weren't Human. Though remarkably similar, their skin was blue in varying hues and their eyes were bright red and aglow. Each man was tall and built well, a warrior of stern expression, though not without compassion it seemed.

Some of the soldiers helped pull the man Anakin had attacked to his feet. They inquired about his wellbeing but he politely shook his head and removed the blood spattered surgical mask that obscured his face. Blue-skinned and red-eyed, he looked far older than any of the others.

He approached Anakin's bedside carefully and held up his hands in surrender.

"Msulaes," he said quietly and gestured to the room. "Chah suru tei'naru vianae sah."

"What?" Anakin frowned. "Do you speak Basic?"

"Bay-seek?" he tried to repeat.

"Of course not." Anakin sighed. "Where's Three Pee-Oh when you need him?"

"I'm right here, Master Anakin," the droid said.

"Woah!" The startled Jedi turned to find the droid standing right by his bedside. "Wait, what happened to you?"

"These kind gentlemen were able to put me back together again, Master. And they did almost as a commendable a job as you would have done."

"Who are these people?" Anakin asked though he suspected he knew the answer.

"Why, these are the Chiss," Three Pee-Oh replied. "They're far less savage than young Master Eli has led us to believe and they speak a variety of trade languages apart from their own. We have settled on Sy Bisti as a lingua franca."

"Tell them I'm sorry for attacking this man," Anakin said earnestly. "I thought he was... nevermind."

The golden droid turned to the curious physician and uttered an odd phrase in Sy Bisti which the aliens seemed to understand. The doctor replied with more perplexing words in the same language and Three Pee-Oh translated.

"He would like to know how you're feeling, Master. You took a heavy blow to the head and the trauma could be impairing your cognitive judgement."

"I'm fine," Anakin said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Where are we?"

"We are aboard the starship 'Vir'haru'dani' or 'Springhawk'," Three Pee-Oh vocabulated. "Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo will be very glad that you are awake, sir."

"The Chiss... saved us?" Anakin puzzled, shifting his legs over the side of the cot.

"It would seem so. I'm afraid my circuits are still a bit moist after that unexpected swim. I don't remember the event itself."

"It's alright, Three Pee-Oh." 

Anakin pushed off the bed and tried to stand. The blue skinned physician quickly stepped in to support him but the Jedi didn't fall. He rubbed his temples and looked out over the onboard infirmary.

It curved left the further it went, lined with beds that were occupied by an odd assortment of patients. There were two Chiss in the ones closest to him, wrapped up in gauze, healing nasty burns. But the rest of the infirm were Human, taking up a dozen cots all the way down the hall. 

They were sedated and prone and at the end of the beds, Anakin spotted a boy with brown hair and tan skin, no more than ten years old.

"Eli," he said, rushing down the narrow path between beds.

The Chiss in laminate moved to stop him and barred his way but a wave of the physician's hand let him pass. They followed him all the way to where Eli rested, flanking either side, rifles raised.

The doctor said something to Three Pee-Oh and the droid vocabulated, "Doctor Larp'raxi'sabosen says you recognize this Human."

"Yes," Anakin said, "This is Eli Vanto. You kidnapped him." He stared daggers into the pupilless red eyes of the Chiss.

The doctor didn't reply. He moved in beside the boy and carefully turned his head with gloved hands, revealing a small puncture wound that was webbed with throbbing veins.

"Inwlanla," he said to the droid. "Isifo."

"I think he's saying that Master Vanto has been bitten."

"By what?" Anakin asked, reaching out to touch it but Praxin smacked his hands away with a few grave words of warning.

"The doctor recommends against direct contact," Three Pee-Oh explained. "He thinks the Commander will be able to explain the situation better than he can."

Anakin stared down at the swollen red mark on Eli's neck, pulsing with every pump of his heart.

"Where can I find this Commander?"

"He is most likely in the Strategy Room," Three Pee-Oh vocabulated. "I can take you there if you wish."

"You know where it is?" Anakin asked, perplexed.

"Oh, yes," the droid said proudly. "The Commander has found my information and communication skills invaluable."

"Uh-huh..." Anakin cocked an eyebrow. "Where are my robes?"

"I believe they were removed and sent away for cleaning, Master." 

He turned to the doctor and a few minutes later, Anakin's clothes were returned to him. His lightsaber however remained missing and upon question, the Chiss feigned ignorance as to its whereabouts.

"Thank you," Anakin said, remembering as he was leaving. "For saving us."

The Doctor's glittering red eyes studied him briefly and then he bowed his head.

"Chah'mirameh lisciris'zah," he said dutifully and returned to his patients.

"What did he say, Three Pee-Oh?" Anakin asked quizzically.

"I am uncertain, Master. I believe it has something to do with duty but my record of the Chiss language is incomplete at best."

Anakin sighed and turned to leave, following the bumbling droid out of the Infirmary. 

"6 million forms of communications, huh?" he said, grinning.

"I am programmed for communication and diplomatic relations within the known regions of the galaxy, Master," Three Pee-Oh muttered. "If the Chiss language isn't part of my lexicon then they are indeed from somewhere far, far away."

"Hmmm," Anakin pondered, glancing over his shoulders at the pair of soldiers that were following him. "None of them speak Basic?" 

"The Lieutenant has a rather advanced knowledge and the Commander has been faring well with his studies but unfortunately the rest of the crew have been too busy to learn, though I've done my best to instruct them in the last few hours."

"I'm sure you have," Anakin said, examining the glistening halls of the Springhawk leading in and out of cabins, up stairs and into observatories, armories, artillery blisters. 

They passed many more soldiers, some of them wearing the same black laminate, others wearing a plain crewman's uniform. Still black, though with multi-coloured patches on the arm.

"They seem quite well equipped," Anakin noted the weapons strapped to their backs and hips, the many computers and terminals in the rooms they passed. "How big is this ship?"

"No bigger than a standard cruiser," Three Pee-Oh said. "Though I have not been able to interface with their onboard systems."

"Really?" the mechanic in Anakin stirred, gazing curiously at the alien tech. "I'd love to fly it."

They came to a set of shiny black doors, polished well enough to reflect the image of a Jedi and his droid, two Chiss soldiers standing tall behind them. Three Pee-Oh tapped the nearby console and spoke.

"Crahsystor Mitth'raw'nuruodo?" he said. "Ngiletha okwami nunxua."

The doors swiftly opened, revealing the darkened Strategy Room on the other side. A cross-section of the Valuncar Gulch was projected down from the ceiling in great detail, numbers and schematics of fleshy droids projected up and over every possible angle of the canyon.

Two sets of bright red eyes glowed through the projection, its light illuminating the faces of two stern Chiss men, one with a datapad in his hand. 

"Chah'ir'vahs, H'sotten," one of them said, dismissing the guards behind Anakin. 

"Ma'resh, Crahsystor." The soldiers raised their right fists into the air, crossed them over their hearts and bowed before leaving in syncronicity.

Three Pee-Oh bumbled forward without apprehension, greeting the two Chiss pleasantly as Anakin followed him in. One of them tapped at his datapad and the projection fizzled out, the ceiling slowly gained luminescence and a cold white light filled the room.

The Chiss wore officers' uniforms, black with reinforced shoulder pads and silver decals on the collar. They had the same military haircut and clean shaven face, like every other Chiss Anakin had come across. 

Three Pee-Oh talked at length about the Jedi's sudden awakening and after a long introduction, he turned and ended his sentence with "Vran'csiuttor Anakin Skywalker."

The bright red eyes of the Chiss flickered toward him, quiet fires kindling with thought and curiousity. 

"Hello," Anakin said. 

Neither Officer blinked.

"Hello," the one holding a datapad returned the greeting. His skin was a dark blue and his hair even darker. "I am Second Lieutenant Murofu'oro'ratu. This is Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo. He is the leader of our expedition."

"Welcome to the Springhawk." The man beside him nodded, his voice calm and cultured, though oddly accented. His red eyes studied Anakin curiously and his skin was a pale blue, hair almost black.

Anakin's mouth formed an odd shape as he tried to figure out how to pronounce the names but he didn't have Three Pee-Oh's programming to flawlessly reproduce vocal patterns.

"Y'got anything else I could call you?" he said finally. 

The officer's hands disappeared behind his back.

"Thrawn." He nodded to his colleague whose glowing red eyes widened in disbelief but he dared not object to the Commander's wishes.

"Fuoror," he said, accepting a gentle nod from Thrawn.

"Fw-fwoah..." Anakin fumbled. "On second thought, I'm just going to call you Lieutenant."

The corner of Fuoror's mouth twitched but he nodded and said, "That is acceptable."

With introductions settled, Anakin decided to get straight to the point. 

"Why did you kidnap Eli Vanto?" he said bluntly.

The Chiss glanced at one another curiously and then turned to Three Pee-Oh who translated Anakin's query into Sy Bisti. There seemed to be some confusion over what an Eli Vanto was and the definition of kidnapping was debated but finally, Fuoror turned to Anakin and said, "Eli Vanto was bitten and infected by an alien entity."

"Alien?" Anakin said ironically but the joke had no effect on the Chiss.

Fuoror looked at the Commander and Thrawn nodded, pointing to the datapad in his hands. "Show him."

The Lieutenant tapped at the device and the room darkened once more. A projection came down from the ceiling and showed a boy in a field, shooting at miraculously floating bottles. The image grew larger, zooming in on his neck and then a small winged insect appeared, hovering by his ear.

Its drill-shaped carapace was brown and black and a long pointy probiscus stuck out of its many eyed head. It zipped in close and landed on the collar of Eli's jacket before stabbing its long nose into his neck.

Eli's hand quickly came up and slapped it, crushing the insect which fell to the ground in pieces. The projector zoomed in again to show the end of a thin needle sticking out of Eli's neck and Thrawn gestured to the Lieutenant to pause it.

"This is why we take him."

Anakin shook his head. 

"Why didn't you just tell us? We could have gone to the hospital, got it removed."

The Chiss seemed to understand despite his limited ability to communicate.

"The infected are dangerous," he said.

"We have lost three warriors to the same fate," Fuoror added.

"What fate?"

The Chiss glanced at one another gravely and the Lieutenant tried to explain to Three Pee-Oh in Sy Bisti. The protocol droid elaborated. 

"He says, the insect secretes a chemical with the ability to recreate an alien biological structure within the host. It replaces parts of the brain with these alien cells and the host is drawn to them, mindlessly attacking any who stand in their way."

Anakin folded his arms.

"So why didn't you stop it before it bit him?" he demanded. "You were recording it. You had to know."

Thrawn nodded calmly.

"We needed..." He turned to his Lieutenant. "Tersarou."

"Bait."

 _"Bait?"_ Anakin sneered. "You used him as _bait?"_

"We needed to draw one of the Shapers out of the Nest," Fuoror explained. "Commander Thrawn's strategy was sound."

"Shapers?"

"The creature you attempted to fight. It created the fire beetles and this insect. It covered the machines in-" he faultered and reverted to Sy Bisti. "umyama iskelo."

"Armor skin," Three Pee-Oh translated.

"He's just a boy," Anakin argued. "What would they want him for?"

Thrawn's eyes glistened in the darkness as he studied Anakin.

"Chiss blood," he said.

"The boy stepped in it a few days ago," Fuoror explained. "One of our warriors was badly injured in the wooded area."

Anakin frowned. If the aliens were coming after the scent of Chiss blood then they were in even greater danger than Eli was.

"They're hunting you?" he realised. "The aliens?"

"It is the other way," Thrawn told him. "They respect our strength but they detest our methods."

His hands drifted out from behind his back.

"They seek to be stronger with Chiss parts," he said cryptically.

Anakin's face set into a quizzical, "What?"

Fuoror explained in Sy Bisti.

"Oh heavens, Master. It seems the aliens the Commander is referring to graft the organs of stronger species into their own bodies!"

Anakin's face darkened, rubbing his chin. "What are these things?"

"We know little but we study," Thrawn said. "They come not from the galaxy."

"An extra-galactic species?" Anakin realised. "What are they doing on Lysatra?"

"They enter near Chiss Space. We warn them but they do not go. We fight them but they do not flee. And when we run, they chase us."

"You led them here?"

"Away from our home." Thrawn nodded.

"But you put everyone _here_ in danger," Anakin accused him.

"The casualties have been minimal," Fuoror said. "This planet's population is low, breathable atmosphere, large open spaces."

"We did not anticipate factory," Thrawn said darkly.

"What factory?"

"It's original purpose was to create machines such as this one with combat capablities." Fuoror pointed to Three Pee-Oh.

"A Separatist Droid Factory? On Lysatra? And now the aliens control it?"

"You understand." Thrawn nodded.

Anakin shook his head, staring daggers into the so-called Commander. There were plenty of questions in his head but he chose to ask, "Why did you save me?"

Thrawn's hands disappeared once again behind his back.

"You have unique abilities," he said. "This construct is some kind of force."

Anakin threw a glance towards Three Pee-Oh. The droid's chassis was a little dented and scratched up but he was still standing and functional despite everything he'd endured.

"Yes," he said. "I am a Jedi. I use the Force to aid those who cannot defend themselves."

"Interesting," Thrawn studied him, glancing briefly at the empty loop on his belt. "You will aid us?"

"You seem pretty capable of defending yourselves," Anakin smirked.

"Not the people of this planet. Not from the Yuuzhan Vong."

"The what?"

"The aliens," Fuoror explained. "They called themselves the Yuuzhan Vong."

"You've spoke to them?"

"There have been attempts to decipher their language, but the only results we have came after we sample the algorithm in this machine." He pointed to Three Pee-Oh.

"You see, Master? I have made myself quite useful in your absence."

Anakin frowned and folded his arms.

"If I help you, will you let Eli and the others go?" he said sternly, searching the expressionless Chiss faces for signs of humanity. The Force grew cold around them. 

Thrawn narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Anakin as much as the Jedi was sizing up him.

"I keep them until the enemy is defeated," he said with quiet confidence. "Until Vrach Larp'raxi'sabosen confirms they are no longer a danger, or in danger."

Anakin breathed out a sigh.

"Agreed." He held out his hand, his real hand.

The Commander studied it for a moment, curiously examining Anakin's expression and reached out with his own. He grasped it tightly with his cold blue fingers.

"Agreed."


	8. Chapter 8

"Talbo Jury?! Selling slave permits? Why I never..." Lyza fumed as they sat at the dinner table. "That two-faced gark-headed son of a- children cover your ears- unlovable algae-brained yalma milker."

Her husband sighed and continued eating while his sons waited patiently with fingers stuck in their ears. Demitri had been married to Lyza for over a decade and it wasn't the first time her usually well controlled anger erupted over the dinner table. 

"How long has this been going on?" Ahsoka asked when Lyza finished her long string of insults.

"I remember my grandmother telling me about it when I was a girl," she said. "Strange folk would appear in town one day and the next, someone would disappear. Usually drifters, those without a home or somewhere to stay."

Ahsoka picked at the mush on her plate, remembering their arrival in Bonaly, the looks everyone had given them.

"But it was rare. One every year or so," Lyza said. "My grandmother told me it was the Chiss. How they came out of the Unknown Regions to feast on our flesh and lured naughty children into the forest."

Fen and Opi looked up at her with frightened expressions.

"They're not real," she told them, patting their heads and planting a kiss on each boy's forehead. "Eat your mash."

Demitri nodded and the boys regained some of their apetite.

"It got really bad when the Clone Wars began," she said. "The Republic garrison in Lysan got called away and so many of the ships and soldiers went with them. There was nothing to stop foreigners setting up free trade or slavery with half our law enforcement gone."

"I'm sorry," Ahsoka said sincerely. 

She had fought beside clone soldiers and Jedi generals, swooping in to save outnumbered civilians in the nick of time but rarely thought about the many worlds left unprotected because of it.

"I'm gonna stop him," she said. "It's what my master would want."

"Are you sure?" Lyza asked worriedly. "Maybe he would want you to return home to your family?"

"The Jedi are my family," she said. "Master Skywalker knows that and I can't let him down."

"I see," Lyza said sadly. "Then I guess we'll just have to help you stop Jury."

"You've done enough," Ahsoka told her. "You must all be really tired after what you've been through."

"We can be tired when no more Lysatrans have to spend a cold night in a cage," Lyza proclaimed. "But you're right. We'll sleep on it and pray the slavers don't come back til mornin'."

They cleared away the table and Ahsoka asked if she could use their holocommunicator before bed. Lyza showed her the dusty old terminal in the study and disappeared into the house, habitually tidying as she went. The lights went out, room by room and Ahsoka sat down at the desk, watching Artoo's tiny light flicker in the dark.

"Think you can get this thing working, Artooie?"

The droid beeped enthusiastically in binary.

"I need to speak to Master Windu," Ahsoka said, opening the terminal and powering on the device.

Artoo scooted over and connected to the dataport, rotating the adaptor clockwise and anti-clockwise. A tiny satellite dish ejected from the top of his chassis and began spinning, amplifying the signal. It took a few minutes but soon, the holoterminal lit up with the image of a dark-skinned Jedi master in long brown robes.

"Master Windu," Ahsoka greeted him. 

"Padawan Tano," he said with all seriousness. "Care to report on your investigation? Have you reached Lysatra?"

"Yes, Master Anakin and I landed yesterday. There's... there's a lot going on."

"Is there any sign of the Separatists in that system?"

"We found Super Battle Droids but they're all weird and covered in skin and stuff. And there's something here. Something empty of the Force. It's like nothing I've ever felt."

"And what does your Master have to say about this?"

"Anakin is..." She shook her head. "He's gone. I don't know where and I don't know how to find him," Ahsoka admitted. "We encountered a group of slavers that were collecting people from Lysatra and he chose to fight them. He told me to save the Lysatrans they'd captured and run. And I did."

"You found the root of the mysterious disappearances then?"

"I think so," she said. "But there may be more going on here."

"I feel it too," the wise Master said, his brow furrowed. "There is a weakness there. An absence of the Force. I believe this is a shatterpoint for events to come."

"What events?"

"The War, perhaps. Skywalker, you... and something else. A new enemy... or an ally," he said pensively. "But you said there were Super Battle Droids?"

"Yes. At least under all the weird gooey skin stuff."

"And slavers?"

"Yes."

"Mmm," the Jedi Master considered but his thoughts were interrupted by a Clone Sergeant.

"Sir, they're pushing through on the third bank. We need reinforcements," Ahsoka hear him say.

"They're coming," Windu told him. "Hold on until I get there."

"Yessir."

"Ahsoka."

"Yes, Master?"

"Find Anakin Skywalker," he said sternly. "We will send all available ships to search for Separatists on Lysatra once we're done on Rishi."

"Thank you."

The projection flickered and the stern face of Master Windu disappeared as the transmission ended. Ahsoka sat quietly for a moment, thinking on all he had said. The war, Anakin, the Separatists... but all of it was old news. Nothing ever changed. There was always someone new to fight and as soon as the clones and the Jedi were through with Rishi, they would move on to Lysatra to fight again.

But what worried her most was the empty void she had felt in the woods. A being or an entity entirely without the Force. Living and yet non-living. Sentient?

She closed her eyes and searched for the warm energy of her master, picturing the cheesy grin on his face after crash-landing on some primitive planet with barely a plan on his mind. Where was he now? 

She concentrated on the Force, meditating in the dark study and somewhere in the wide net of ephemeral energies which blanketed the world, she found Anakin Skywalker. Busy, she felt, like he was working on one of his droids or ships or speeders. 

She tried to picture where he was. A direction or an object in the vicinty, something tangible she could use but it was just cold. So very cold. And beneath him, the void. Darkness, free of the Force.

Ahsoka frowned, trying to probe it but it stole her consciousness and she dosed off in the chair, too tired to think anymore.

 

\----

 

It was morning when Lyza woke her with a hot cup of honeymilk in her hand.

"Did you get enough sleep?" she asked kindly as Ahsoka accepted the offering.

"Yeah," she said with a yawn.

Lyza was already across the room, putting books back onto a shelf, alphabetizing, dusting. She moved swiftly, finding a new spot to clean with every movement.

"I made breakfast," she said. "A _proper_ breakfast. Not like those scraps Fysszix' goons tossed us all week. Come have something to eat." She finished straightening up a picture on the wall and pulled Ahsoka out of her chair and out of the room.

The table was set once again for five, covered in simple but scrumptious food that the boys fought over and Demitri quietly enjoyed, happy to be home.

"Now, I've thought about our plan of attack," Lyza said, sitting down at the table. 

Ahsoka looked up at her with surprise.

"We're not the only town affected by the Harrowed Hand"

Ahsoka thought back to their encounter in the Valuncar Gulch. "Fysszix said they collected in Bonaly, Titrano and Gyza."

"Yes," Lyza nodded vigorously. "I've called all of my friends from those towns and they say they're ready."

"Ready for what?"

"To take matters into their own hands," she said fiercely. "Fysszix' troupe isn't the only one out there. I've called Felima, Sartrys and Sonado and everyone says the same thing. Slavers."

"What about the Rangers?" Ahsoka asked. "Savvi and Emiro are corrupt but maybe the others aren't?"

"Even if they had the conscience to refuse Jury's offer, he'd just threaten to have them removed the same way the townsfolk disappear. We have to stop him!" she concluded. "We have to go up there and teach him a lesson."

"There's no need," Ahsoka said calmly. "I've contacted a member of the Jedi Council. Master Windu says they'll send Republic forces to Lysatra as soon as they're done on Rishi."

If Ahsoka was expecting the news to cheer them up, it certainly didn't. Demitri looked at his wife sadly and shook his head.

"How long will that take?" he asked quietly.

"I, uh," Ahsoka ummed, "don't know."

Lyza frowned, her brow furrowing with anger.

"We can't just sit on our hands while this continues," she said. "Who knows how many people they'll take before the Republic comes. And they'll never get them back once they're sent offworld."

"I want to help, Lyza," Ahsoka said. "But I have to find my master. He's out there somewhere, I know it."

"He's as good as dead, Ahsoka. You saw what happened in the gulch with your own eyes. No one could have survived that."

"He's alive," Ahsoka said stubbornly. 

"Even if he is, Anakin Skywalker is a Jedi. A War Hero. He can take of himself," Lyza pointed out. "What about Eli Vanto? You think he's going to break out of his cage and come running back to his parents before they smuggle him offworld?"

Ahsoka frowned. All this trouble and they still hadn't found Eli. The boy had disappeared without a trace, his trail cold before the search even started. There was no guarantee the Republic could find him, even if they arrived in the next hour and began scouring each city for clues. 

"They'll come for the Separatists first," Ahsoka realised, remembering Windu's words. "They'll focus on flushing them out before they consider looking for the missing people."

"Exactly," Lyza agreed. "They don't really care about Lysatra. No one does."

"I do," Ahsoka said sternly. "I'll help you take down the slavers, Lyza," she promised. "I just hope my master will be alright."

They finished breakfast and Ahsoka remembered suddenly.

"Oh, I forgot about Savvi," she said.

"What about him?"

"I locked him up in one of the cells at the Ranger Station."

"Serves him right," Lyza said. "Fat pig didn't lift a finger to find us." She began aggressively doing the dishes.

Demitri walked over to Ahsoka and discreetly passed her a roll of insta-bread and a canteen. He put a finger to his lips and the young Jedi nodded.

"I'll go see if he knows anything else that might help us," she said, making for the door.

"Be careful, child," Lyza warned, head over the sink. "He's slipperier than he looks."

Ahsoka thanked them and left the Bianchi household, making her way into the center of town. Despite the return of many of its citizens, Titrano seemed even quieter than it had before. The streets were empty of people and windows were boarded shut. Doors locked and barricaded. A town holding its breath.

Ahsoka frowned.

Anakin had painfully convinced one troupe of the Harrowed Hand to leave but if Lyza was right, another could swoop in at any moment. Titrano's higher population and remote location made it a ripe target and the citizens knew it. And yet they didn't leave.

Ahsoka thought about Jeb Vanto's words as she walked through the empty playground. 

_"We know our place,"_ he'd said. _"Over there it's... complicated."_

What he meant, she still couldn't say. Was he talking about the Senate? The constant political battle of the Republic within itself? Or did he mean the Core worlds as a whole? Something preventing him from venturing there and staying too long?

She made it past the playground and stopped in front of the ranger station. It had been left untouched since her last visit but something felt wrong. The Force rippled in ominous ways sending a shiver down her spine and Ahsoka took a deep breath to still herself.

It filled her with calm and resolution as she stepped forward, lightsaber in one hand. The door slid open at her touch and she slipped inside quietly. The lights began to flicker on, several stubbornly refusing to stay powered, darkening the far end of the station whose windows were plastered with Missing Persons posters.

Ahsoka switched on her lightsaber, unleashing its emerald blade against the darkness. It scattered away, showing the ranger's desk and its rickety old terminal, still on standby.

"Savvi?" she called out, taking a step closer toward the cell where she'd locked him up the night before. 

No reply came from the shadows. No sound or movement but there was an unpleasant smell. Ahsoka pinched her nose and took another step forward.

"Savvi, you there?" she called out, edging closer. "What are you, scared?" her sarcasm reared.

The Force rippled through her again, spiky and hard. Something was wrong. Very wrong. She took three more steps toward the cell, passing a blood-stained desk and then she saw it. 

Savvi's body was gutted and lay on the floor of the open cell. On the wall, words were written in blood. Words she had to move closer to make out.

"Slaver pig."

Ahsoka dropped the bundle of food and water she was holding. The canteen fell to the ground and clacked loudly against the tiled floor, slipping on the blood.

She took a step back and covered her mouth with a shaky hand, stifling a scream. And then the door to the station slid open and in trampled three rangers with blasters raised. 

"Freeze!"

Ahsoka recognized Emiro's voice and slowly turned around. Him and two other rangers she didn't recognise were shining a torch in her face.

"It's not what you think," she said, lightsaber in hand.

"Drop the weapon," Emiro instructed. 

Ahsoka sheathed it and held up her hands. 

"This is all just a big misunderstanding."

The rangers moved in closer, blasters trained on her heart. They stopped in front of her and a female ranger pointed the barrel straight at her head. The others shone their torches at the cell, the corpse, the blood writing on the wall.

"You're under arrest," Emiro announced. "For the murder of Domut Savvi."

"No," Ahsoka refused as they moved in to cuff her. "I just got here."

"Caught in the act," Emiro sneered, snatching her lightsabers away. She gave them up without a fight. They weren't droids she could just slice up and leave. They were living people, citizens of a world she did not belong to and the closest thing to law enforcement they had.

"This is a setup," she cried as they trapped her wrists in energy binders. "I didn't do it."

"You'll have to prove it," Emiro grinned lasciviously. "Take her away."

They pushed her through the station and dragged her out the door. Ahsoka struggled against the energy binders, trying to free herself but they were sapping away her strength. And then she realised what was happening.

"Jury set me up, didn't he?" she demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Emiro grinned, shoving her out the door.

Ahsoka tripped down the steps and fell before she could concentrate what little force energy she had on softening the landing. She grunted as she rolled away from the station, covering herself in dust.

The rangers followed her out of the building and leisurely strolled over to where she scrambled, trying to get to her feet. The female ranger kicked her and Ahsoka let out of sharp cry.

"What are you lookin' at?" Emiro challenged.

Ahsoka looked up and saw a man standing not far from the ranger station, his hands tightly curled into fists. And he wasn't alone. Surrounding him were all of the townsfolk, Lyza included, filling out the town center, with the same vengeful look on their faces.

"I'm lookin' at the piece of gark dung that sold ma' sister to the slavers," the old man crowed.

"You're delusional, old man," Emiro spat.

"She lived in Bonaly. And you let 'em take her. Just like Savvi let 'em take us," the old man said angrily, his whiskers twitching.

"Go stick your head back in your horpie trough, Gallante," Emiro said, pointing a gun at his head. "Before I stick it in there for ya."

"My family was taken from their own beds," Lyza hissed. "They were going to split us up, send us to different planets. I would never have seen my sons again if it weren't for this Jedi and her master."

"Go tell it to someone who cares," Emiro sneered. "All of you go home."

"This isn't home," Demitri said beside her. "Not while you're here."

The crowd murmured angrily at the three rangers. They had no weapons but their fury was palpable and Ahsoka quietly lifted the key to her binders while Emiro was distracted.

He pointed his blaster at the sky and let off a warning shot.

"Return to your homes!" he shouted. "This is Ranger business."

None of them moved.

"I said, go." He stared them down but the Titranians took not one step, adamantly staring back. He lowered the blaster and pointed it at Gallante. "Maybe your hearin's gone bad, old man? Let me make it perfectly clear." 

He cocked the gun into stun setting and pulled the trigger, sending a blue pulse flying at Gallante. The old man stood his ground and the blast hit him directly, knocking him unconscious and his body crumpled into the arms of the people behind him. 

"Any other questions?" Emiro sneered.

"Just one," Ahsoka said, throwing off the binders. 

She stretched out her hands and the lightsabers clipped to Emiro's belt flew off and entered her grip. She ignited the blades and danced through the Rangers, cutting their blasters in half with a flurry of glowing plasma. 

She pointed a saber at Emiro's heart, the other in her hand.

"How do we get to Jury?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, I super appreciate all the comments so far. some of them have made me laugh a little louder than appropriate and now people are looking at me funny >.> but i'm not gonna reply until i finish to avoid giving you spoilers. enjoy :P

"That should do it," Anakin said, screwing the chest panel back into place.

"Thank you, Master. My circuits are feeling better already."

"No more swimming, Three Pee-Oh," the Jedi scolded with an odd looking hydrospanner. He examined the long silver instrument briefly and put it back in the toolbox.

"I would never go swimming voluntarily, Master. I am not programmed with such functionality."

Anakin grinned and a curious Chiss looked over at the droid from behind his work station, red eyes gleaming.

"Hello." Anakin waved at him.

The Chiss looked around but the Jedi was definitely talking to him, not to someone else.

"He'loh," he said quietly, imitating Anakin's wave.

"Three Pee-Oh, ask him what his name is," the Jedi whispered.

The droid began vocabulating in Sy Bisti and the Chiss technician stopped to listen in wonder. He didn't reply but his interest was picqued and he slowly put down his tools and edged closer. 

"I'm afraid he's not responding, Master," Three Pee-Oh worried as the Chiss walked up to him and put a hand on his face. The technician looked at his fingers and rubbed them together as if testing for dust or dirt.

"Do you know any other languages he might know?" Anakin asked.

"Oh, the Lieutenant did mention he knew Mynnisiat. Though perhaps that was just the Lieutenant personally. I am unaware of the Chiss education system-"

The technician paid no attention to the droid's ramblings and walked back to his work station. He returned a few minutes later with a strange container of goo and a cloth. Anakin watched curiously as he dipped into the strange green polish and rubbed the gunk off Three Pee-Oh's head. It came away easily, leaving streaks of gold on an otherwise dull beige surface. He offered the polish to Anakin who took it eagerly and began rubbing the chromium plating back into good condition.

"Wow, we gotta get some more of this stuff for Artoo," he said, examining the green goo. "Thanks." He smiled at the Chiss.

The man watched him curiously, arms settling behind his back. He wasn't as tall as the others and his skin was a very pale blue, almost silver. He considered them with some professional curiosity for a moment and then pointed at the droid. 

"You make?" he asked.

The Jedi nodded proudly.

"Yes. You speak Basic?"

The Chiss showed him the small distance between his thumb and forefinger.

"A little bit, huh?"

The Chiss pointed again, this time to Anakin's right hand.

"You are?" he asked worriedly.

Anakin looked down at his mechanical hand. It was gloved and hidden under his robes but the Chiss were quite perceptive. Maybe it was something in their eyes?

"No," he said. "Just this." He drew an imaginary line where the cybernetics stopped and flesh began.

The Chiss looked over it curiously. He wanted to say more, Anakin could see but the doors of the workshop slid open and Lieutenant Fuoror stepped inside, followed by several armoured warriors with crates.

"Vran'csiuttor," he nodded to Anakin. "Haensi," he addressed the curious Chiss beside him.

"Hak'kah, H'sottor." He saluted and bowed respectfully to his superior.

Anakin's head swivelled toward Three Pee-Oh for a translation.

"Vran'csiuttor is the equivalent rank of General in the Chiss Defense Force. And this gentleman has been addressed as Engineer," he vocabulated.

Anakin turned back to return the Lieutenant's greeting and the Engineer hurried past him to take one of the soldier's crates. The faceless warrior removed their helmet, releasing a long ponytail of blue hair that unravelled and fell all the way down to her waist.

"That's..." Anakin said slowly, "a woman."

She gave him an icy glare with her scarlet eyes and her sapphire lips pressed together tightly.

"Yes," Lieutenant Fuoror nodded as one would when encouraging a child. "The women have returned from a resupply mission."

The soldiers put their crates down onto work benches and took off their helmets. Four women with sharp facial features and long blue hair revealed themselves and nodded to the Lieutenant. He nodded back as they drifted off toward the locker room save one. She pulled out a datapad and began sending through invoices and inventory lists which the Lieutenant received on his end. The lone male Engineer was already prying open the crates, eager to get at the contents inside.

"Huh..." Anakin pondered to himself.

"Crahsystor Mitth'raw'nuruodo gifae'lacra vulai su tuso'nah..." Fuoror began tentatively but the woman beside him cut him off.

"Nai," she said, eyes gleaming. "Crahsystor nimesu'ris napfera murau k'tano."

"Maa'r..." Fuoror replied timidly.

The woman put away her datapad, gave Anakin a derogatory sniff and moved to follow her peers into the locker room.

"What was that all about?" Anakin wondered out loud.

"The Commander wanted to accompany them on their next supply run," he said. "But he's known for... impulsive purchases."

"Chiss like shopping?" Anakin grinned as he got to his feet, clapping the grit off his hands.

"Define... _shopping_ , please," Fuoror requested.

"Buying goods, trading, haggling, walking around stores," Anakin described, wiping his hands with a cloth.

"I see," Fuoror nodded. "No, the act of shopping is simply a necessity."

"Uh-huh," Anakin grinned, remembering a certain Senator back home. "And you send the women because..."

"They are more proficient in bartering. And they always return with more money than they leave with."

Anakin frowned. "They steal it?"

"No. They simply purchase goods in one place and sell them at a higher price in another. This is an interplanetary vessel."

"Right," Anakin said, examining the crates.

"What did they get this time?"

"Ammunition, mostly. Though I see Haensi Vumno has purchased a rather provacative dress," Fuoror noted on the datapad. "The Commander will have to be informed..."

Anakin chuckled quietly as he imagined the stern Chiss learning about his subordinate's purchases but disguised it with a cough.

"Are you alright, Vran'csiuttor?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Any word from the Commander?" he asked, remembering their last meeting.

"Yes." Fuoror straightened. "He's ready to brief you on the next operation."

"Good. Let's go, then."

Fuoror's eyes darted towards Anakin's belt.

"Haensi," he said.

The lone Engineer popped his head out of a crate.

"Ma'resh, H'sottor." He saluted.

The Lieutenant looked at him sternly, red eyes glittering.

"Mmm?" The Engineer's face lit up with worry. "Ah." 

He hurried over to his work station and searched through the many hidden shelves and drawers, revealing the myriad of technological knick-knacks he had been working on. Anakin watched appreciatively from afar until he recognized one of them.

"Hey, that's my lightsaber," he said irritably.

The Chiss pulled it out and shut the compartment. He gave it a final inspection as he walked back and then returned it to Anakin with a smile. 

The Jedi snatched it from him, examining the weapon for damage but it seemed good as new. And heavier.

"What have you done to it?" he said.

There was a brief exchange between the Chiss and Three Pee-Oh.

"I'm not sure I understand, Master. But I believe he says he fixed it."

"He _fixed_ it?" Anakin said with a doubtful eyebrow. He'd made the weapon himself, designed it as a Padawan, tweaking it more and more until it had become a part of him, an extension. 

"Yes. He says he repaired the water damage but it would not ignite in his hands so he took it apart and discovered there was a piece missing."

Anakin looked down at the lightsaber ponderously and flicked it on. The end erupted with the same blue plasma blade as always but something was different. The sound, perhaps, the weight, the hum. The vibrations of Force energy singing in tune with something lesser but tangible.

"Hmmm..." he wondered, twirling it through an Ataru sweep. It felt good in his hand. Strong.

The Engineer said something to Fuoror and the Lieutenant smiled a little.

"What's so funny?" Anakin asked, sensing their amusement.

"We use the same technology for welding tools," he explained. "The Commander initially mistook you for a very confused mechanic on the battlefield."

Anakin opened his mouth to rebutt the theory but it wasn't technically incorrect. He shook his head and thanked the Engineer who saluted them and went back to digging through the crates.

Lieutenant Fuoror guided the Jedi through the neat black halls of the Springhawk, passing soldiers and officers and crewmen, half of which were new faces, blue and beauteous as seemed to be the case with the Chiss' fairer sex. Three Pee-Oh bumbled along behind them, proudly proclaiming to any who would listen about his glistening new body. The Chiss were reluctant to listen but it didn't stop him from talking until they reached the briefing room.

Lieutenant Fuoror keyed the intercom.

"Chah'mirus, Crahsystor," he said, instinctively bowing his head. "Vran'csiuttor sah."

There was a pause but Fuoror did not move and then the doors opened revealing a cabin remarkably similar to the strategy room but bigger and with actual seating. The Lieutenant gestured for Anakin to step inside and Three Pee-Oh followed, the doors sliding shut behind them.

The room was dark and there was a projection in the centre. A maze of some kind, a schematic of a building and markers, notes, alien characters running down a feed. Commander Thrawn stood behind it, his glowing eyes unblinking as he studied the map. The seats around the room were occupied by different soldiers, officers, intensely concentrating on the Commander and what he'd just said.

Anakin walked up to the projection to get a better look at it. And he recognized the layout of the building, the same hive-like design he'd seen on Geonosis.

"This is a Droid Foundry," he said.

Thrawn's glowing red eyes flickered and though he couldn't tell which way he was looking for sure, Anakin was certain the Commander was interested in what he had to say.

"Please." He nodded at the map. "The machine will translate."

Anakin took a step forward.

"It looks like it was built by Geonosians," he said. "They're insectoid aliens from a desert planet in the Outer Rim."

Three Pee-Oh dutifully translated his words into Sy Bisti and the Chiss around the room turned to look at him, eyes afire with intense concentration. Anakin cleared his throat, a little unsettled but decided to continue while looking at the map.

"They build nests and hives deep underground on their home planet. Their factories are similar, usually built around a deposit of precious minerals or ore which they use to create droids."

Three Pee-Oh repeated his words and the Chiss nodded, glancing at the Commander but he did not interupt.

"There's usually a number of underground tunnels that lead down from the surface into a maze. That's where the Geonosians hide their security guards in low-light and tight spaces, relying on ambush tactics to keep out intruders."

Commander Thrawn nodded, folding his arms and raising a hand to his face pensively.

"The foundry begins a few levels beneath the maze. It's a large open space that extends much deeper underground." Anakin pointed at the large air pocket on the map. "The production line begins from the bottom where they extract the ore and continues up through assembly lines. The finished droids are then placed in a staging area near the surface."

Three Pee-Oh finished translating and Commander Thrawn nodded.

"You encountered this construct before," he said. It wasn't a question but Anakin nodded in reply. "You say guards hide only in the maze."

"The bulk of them," Anakin said. "But they hide in the ceiling. They can fly so they could be hiding on any floor really."

"Mmm," Thrawn agreed. "You fight them before."

Anakin nodded, solemnly remembering each battle for Geonosis in turn. His Padawan, Ahsoka, had braved the catacombs of the Geonosian hive and almost died down there. His right fist tightened, now made of durasteel not flesh. The Commander's eyes flickered again and Anakin had the distinct feeling that he could see right through him but the Force didn't reveal any danger. Still, the energy around him felt cold and the Jedi grew tense.

"I will speak," Thrawn said, unravelling his arms. "Machine will translate."

Anakin nodded.

He tapped the projection and the schematics faded, replaced by three grotesque aliens in a row.

"Yuuzhan Vong," Thrawn began a detailed explanation.

"Commander Thrawn believes the species is extremely religious. They pray to their gods with battle. They inflict pain on themselves to gain the favour of their deities, the Yun-Yuuzhan. There are three castes-"

"Wait a second," Anakin interrupted. "How do you know all this when you can't even understand what they're saying?"

Thrawn's crimson eyes glittered thoughtfully, a secret concealed behind them he was not willing to share in front of the others. Anakin probed with the Force, searching for lies but the Commander was not deceiving him.

"We study," he said. "We fight, we learn."

"How did they end up on the planet in the first place?" 

Thrawn's mouth thinned into a pertinent line but then he breathed out and began to explain.

"He says the Yuuzhan Vong followed them from the outer Chiss territories without the use of a navigation system. They tracked them through hyperspace and copied every jump they made until they reached Wild Space."

Anakin folded his arms as he listened.

"Commander Thrawn decided to test how well they could manouvre their spacecraft. He chose a planet with a relatively sparse population and a breathable atmosphere in case they crashed landed."

The Jedi frowned. Crash landings were his specialty but not something he ultimately anticipated before he even got into a cockpit.

"He says the Yuuzhan Vong followed them into the system and just as they were about to run out of fuel, the Springhawk performed a microjump toward Lysatra."

"What?" Anakin paused. "That's impossible."

"He says the Springhawk's pilots and navigators are among the best in the Chiss Ascendancy. They pulled up before they crashed onto the surface of the planet. The Yuuzhan Vong were not so fortunate."

Anakin shook his head. He remembered the spacers on Tatooine talk about fools that tried to jump in and out of hyperspace on a bet. Most ended up squashed against an asteroid after failing to do the math properly. But intentionally aiming at a planet? He had to try it some time.

"Tell him I like his style, Three Pee-Oh."

The droid translated and the corner of the Thrawn's mouth upturned into what some would consider a smile. The Chiss around the room did not look pleased however. Their faces remained focused intensely on the briefing but some of them looked at each other worriedly, shaking their heads with disapproval.

They trusted the Commander with their lives it seemed but he understood their reservations about microjumping into a planet. It was suicide. And this was coming from Anakin Skywalker. 

"What happened to the Yuuzhan Vong?" he asked curiously and Thrawn continued his explanation.

"He says that most of them perished, Master. The ones that remained were badly injured or horribly scarred but they didn't despair over it. In fact, they rejoiced the pain and suffering inflicted upon them. They sought to fight natives and began slaughtering the Humans who ventured too close."

Thrawn pointed to the Yuuzhan Vong in the centre of the projection. It wore long tattered robes in red and black, detailed with spiky alien characters. The Commander described it briefly.

"He says the Yuuzhan Vong of the priest caste zealously adhere to the belief that all technology is heresy against their gods. To the point where all their weapons, ships and armour are organic. Made by the Shapers."

"The creature we encountered in the woods," Anakin realised.

Commander Thrawn nodded.

"He says that creature was the combination of a Yuuzhan Vong Shaper that grafted itself onto the body of a young insectoid queen."

"A Geonosian Yuuzhan Vong hybrid?" Anakin said worriedly.

Thrawn pointed to the third alien in the projection. It had the same cut off nose and tattooed skin, mottled with scars and discolouring but out of its head protruded many snake-like tendrils. Its fingers were tipped with needles and one of its eyes was black and sickly. 

"The Shapers are incubators for strange unclassified cells which they manipulate to create different organisms with specific functions."

"Like the bug that bit Eli and the fire beetles?"

Thrawn nodded.

"When they crashed on Lysatra, their ship died but its bulk was recycled by the Shapers when they took over the droid factory."

"Hold on, you said the Vong hated technology. Why would they take over a droid factory?"

"Yuuzhan Vong," Thrawn corrected. "We left them no choice." He turned again to speak in Sy Bisti.

"The death of their ship meant they were stranded on an alien world with no way off. They employed guerilla tactics to take them out one by one but were quickly discovered."

"The warrior caste-" Thrawn pointed to the first alien in the projection. A slathering brute with a massive body, covered in scars and dark crab-like armour. There was a long staff in his hand, topped with the head of a serpent.

"Our warriors clashed on several occasions and earned the respect of the Yuuzhan Vong. They began to covet our eyes, our hearts, digging them out of the bodies of my men and grafting them into their own. It is after this that we began covert operations."

Anakin swallowed the lump in his throat. It had been steadily forming over the course of the briefing and now he almost felt sick. It didn't help that the Springhawk was sitting on top of the droid factory, blocking the exit with its rear shields. The void churned beneath them, empty of the Force and Anakin felt like he was standing on a glass floor, looking down into the abyss.

"The Commander says defeating the Chiss became the Yuuzhan Vong's primary objective but they didn't have the numbers to do so. The Shapers suggested using the droid factory they had conquered but were rebutted by the priests and their doctines. Eventually, this split the Yuuzhan Vong into two groups with the warrior caste more or less equally distributed between them."

"So the Shapers took the droid factory," Anakin said. "Where did the priests go?"

"They are no longer a problem," Thrawn said coldly, his eyes glowing with conviction.

Anakin recognised that look. He'd worn it himself when he marched into the sand people's village on Tatooine and left it burning till dawn. He wasn't proud of himself but it was done. He had to live with it now.

"Alright. So how do we finish them?"

Thrawn nodded again, his fervour tempered with diligence. He returned the map and schematics to the projection and the Chiss around the room sat up to pay close attention.

"He says they've mapped the maze on top of the droid factory and caved in some of the exits from the outside to route the droid forces. They can predict where and when they'll leave using the ship's onboard scanners. In this way, they have been able to manipulate the terrain outside the facility resulting in the droids' destruction."

"But they keep making more," Anakin supposed, stroking his chin. "You need to shut down the factory."

"Correct," Thrawn said, returning to Sy Bisti.

"The Shapers reside in the bottom-most level of the factory, near the smelting equipment which they've repurposed to create more organic tissue. It covers the walls, floors and droids, giving them remote control without programming."

"So the droids we fought on the surfaces are controlled by the Shapers through the fleshy skin stuff," Anakin nodded. "What are you proposing?"

Three Pee-Oh listened intently as the Commander spoke in a quiet authorative tone and turned to give Anakin a long and thorough explanation.

"Bombs."

"Bombs?"

"The Commander proposes using bombs to purge the skin of the maze and push through into the foundry using three independent assault teams. Each team will deliver a bomb to a key point in the structure and return to the ship. All power will then be diverted into the rear shields of the Springhawk to contain the damage to the droid factory."

"Sounds straight forward." Anakin nodded. "Why does he need me?"

There was a brief exchange.

"The Commander says he requires protection as the maze is filled with hostile organisms and Yuuzhan Vong warriors that are likely to attack him on sight."

"Wait, you're going in too?" Anakin turned to Thrawn.

The Chiss straightened up and nodded, his arms drifting behind his back.

"That seems like an unnecessary risk," Anakin said without believing the words were coming out of his mouth. "You should stay here where it's safe."

"I am not helpless," the Chiss said calmly. "A Commander must lead if he expects men to follow."

Anakin let a mischievous grin spread on his face.

"Alright, then," he said. "Let's get started."


	10. Chapter 10

Ahsoka watched the sun set over Titrano, letting the warmth colour her face and montrals. She closed her eyes, searching the Force for disturbances, for approaching danger but all seemed quiet.

"You see anything?" Lyza called up to her.

"No." Ahsoka looked down at them. "You're clear."

Marko and Silis were working on the communications tower below, surrounded by a number of townsfolk with hunting rifles and blasters which had been conveniently liberated from the nearby ranger station. Ahsoka had sparked something of a rebellion and locked up Emiro and his buddies in Harald Gallante's barn after they refused to talk. The old man was keeping them "secure" while the rest of the townsfolk worked on a plan to save Lysatra from Jury and his henchmen.

The Chief of Spaceport Security rarely left the spaceport itself, occasionally venturing to the bottom of the sky hook to oversee disputes between rival shipping companies. And it wasn't going to be easy to get up there now that Ahsoka was a wanted criminal.

The men below were messing with the com tower that Jury had obviously used to spy on them. With a little help from Artoo, they soon found the secure frequency he used to communicate with his cronies.

 _"...no sig-...doesn't..."_ the static hissed.

Ahsoka jumped down from the tower and landed lightly beside them.

"Have you got it working?" she asked.

"Almost..." Silis said, turning a dial on the panel.

_"...no response from Emiro, sir."_

_"I know there's no response. Why d'ya think I asked you to find him?"_

_"I'm a little busy at the moment."_

_"What? Filing your nails? I'm not paying you to sip caf all day, Cassa."_

_"Folks in Gyza aren't happy, Jury. I got people knockin' down my door askin' about slavers."_

"Well, tell 'em nobody's home!"

_"They say some Jedi saved a bunch of people in Titrano."_

_"....."_

_"Sir?"_

_"They're lying. No-one's savin' anyone, understand?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"You see an orange girl with weird horn lookin' things, you let me know in the same second."_

_"Yeah... no, this doesn't sit right with me, chief. Are there really slavers taking people? Savvi's not pickin' up either."_

_"Listen, Cassa. You got one job. Sit at your desk and look pretty. Forget Titrano and do what I'm paying you to do."_

_"But..."_

Jury hung up and after a few seconds Cassa did too.

"Looks like Jury's not happy," Ahsoka grinned.

"He better not be," Lyza said, gripping her rifle tightly.

"Who's Cassa?"

"Ranger in Gyza. Always thought she was a bit of an airhead to be honest."

"Sounds like someone should fill her in," Ahsoka said. "How long does it take to get to Gyza?"

"'Bout an hour on a speeder," Marko said. "You wanna talk to Cassa?"

"We need allies," Ahsoka pointed out. "Someone that knows Jury and how to get to him. Maybe Cassa isn't as corrupt as Emiro or Savvi."

"We can take you to Gyza." Silis nodded. 

Ahsoka turned to Lyza and the others. "Think you'll be alright by yourselves for a few hours?"

"Should be. Barricade of town is almost finished. Keep your comlink close and your lightsabers closer."

Ahsoka nodded.

"Let's go."

Silis and Marko hopped into their speeder and Ahsoka followed. They started up the generator and hovered off the ground, kicking up dust over the remaining Titranians. They watched grimly as the speeder hurried away and Ahsoka could see the fear in their eyes. They were doing their best to hide it but their greatest hope was the Jedi Padawan and they had to stand there and watch her leave.

Ahsoka turned back to find Silis at the wheel, Marko keeping watch beside him. They wore scanner goggles to keep the dust out of their eyes as much as to monitor the landscape. But Ahsoka had to squint and concentrate on the Force to see even an inch in front of her nose.

They zoomed across the plain and into a dust cloud that covered the vehicle from stem to stern. Ahsoka screwed her eyes shut and coughed as they passed through. Silis and Marko pulled scarves up over their mouths, well acquainted with Lysatra's spontaneous dust storms. 

The wind kicked up Ahsoka's Padawan chain and deafened the passengers. She felt something being shoved into her hands and took it. Scanner goggles and a scarf just like the boys were wearing. Ahsoka quickly pulled them on and opened her eyes, visibility greatly improved.

She could see for many kliks in every direction, the flat plains of Lysatra, interrupted by the Valuncar gulch in the east and the Bonaly woods to the west. But they were so small she could barely see them. The road to Gyza was flat and straight but the dust made it difficult to discern distance. The scanner goggles were showing eighty kliks to their destination.

Ahsoka watched the road as Marko did but soon grew bored of the dusty fog and plains. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat of the old speeder and meditated. She searched for Lyza somewhere behind them, angry and vengeful but fearful for her family. 

The Force stretched long and wide over Lysatra and Ahsoka could feel for many kilometres the peace, the stillness of life drifting into the night. And then she felt it again. The great big hole in the Force, its energies scattered from a chasm deep in the ground. And a familiar energy. Anakin Skywalker. Surrounded by the emptiness and the cold. 

"Master..." she whispered.

"Ahsoka!" Marko called distantly.

"Huh?" She broked out of meditation. "What is it?"

"I think I see something." He pointed out the side of the speeder. "It's comin' closer."

Ahsoka leaned over to see what he was talking about, raising a hand to search the Force for an answer. She couldn't see much, even through the scanner goggles but the large silhouette of a hover-barge revealed itself to her keen senses. And she heard the distant hissing and growling.

"It's the slavers," she said, sticking her head between the front seats.

"Damn it!" Silis cursed. "Maybe we can outrun 'em." He floored the accelerator and they took off at twice the speed but even through the wind and dust, the sound of the incoming barge was unmistakable.

Ahsoka turned back to watch the caravan of grey hover-trailers appear in the distance, massive cages rattling inside. The head of the train looked something like a pleasure barge with transparisteel walls. She couldn't see inside it.

"You think they've seen us?" Marko said worriedly.

Ahsoka opened her mouth to reply but the other side of the speeder was pierced by a durasteel harpoon, stopping only inches away from her right hand. The vehicle lurched at the sudden pull and Silis struggled to keep it upright. He managed to balance it out and accelerate but something was pulling them back. 

"There! Behind us!" Marko shouted through the dust storm.

Ahsoka turned to see a single rider on a camouflaged swoop bike, a cable connecting its grill to the harpoon now lodged in their door. She sliced it off with a twirl of her lightsaber and the cable whipped through the air like a rattlesnake but their attacker was not deterred.

A second harpoon skewered the door on Ahsoka's left and a blaster bolt came from her right. She jumped to her feet, deflecting the energy blast and cutting them loose. The old speeder jolted forward and Silis barely managed to keep it from flipping while Ahsoka concentrated on staying balanced as more and more blaster bolts came flying in her direction.

She pulled out her second lightsaber and swatted them back, returning the firestorm they sent hailing her way. Then another harpoon pierced the boot of the speeder and Ahsoka grabbed on to the seat as the old vehicle bucked and reared.

"We can't shake 'em!" Silis called out.

"I have an idea," Ahsoka called back. "Turn around and head towards that slaver barge."

"Are you insane?! We're trying to get rid of the slavers, not-"

"We have to face them sooner or later," Ahsoka shouted over the dust storm. "Trust me!"

Silis shook his head but reluctantly agreed, pulling the steering gear hard. 

Ahsoka deflected several more blaster bolts and hopped over the seat and onto the cable protruding from the boot of their speeder. With a light foot and two blazing lightsabers, she ran down the length of the cable and jumped onto the bike that was tailing them and kicked the driver off.

He disappeared into a cloud of dust and Ahsoka cut the cable sticking out of the front, releasing Marko and Silis from its pull. Their speeder quickly began turning toward the slaver barge but the other bikes came around to give them grief. 

Marko pull out a scattergun and shot out the side, blasting a bike and clipping two others but there were more of them. Ahsoka hopped into the seat of her commandeered swoop bike and punched the accelerator, one lightsaber up and ready.

She wasn't as great a pilot as Anakin but she did her best to steady herself using the Force as a guide. The young Padawan drifted through the dust storm deflecting blaster bolts and blocking harpoons from the other bikes and cut through six of them without much trouble. The pieces fell away, disappearing into the murky grey clouds that raged all around them.

"Ahsoka!" Silis shouted through the wind. "We're coming up on the barge!"

"Full speed!" Ahsoka shouted back. "I'll get Marko!"

Silis replied with something unintelligible as Ahsoka pulled back and circled around the speeder, cutting down three more swoop bikes as she went. An alien cursed at her in strange reptilian tongues, trying to jump onto her speeder and knock her off but a curt Force Push sent him flying in a different direction.

Ahsoka put away her lightsaber and grabbed both handlebars of the swoop bike. She caught up with Marko and Silis who were hurtling toward the unwieldy pleasure barge in front of them and moved in as close as she could.

"Jump!" she called to Marko. 

"What?!" 

"I'll catch you!" Ahsoka said, holding out her hand and feeling the Force energies swirling through the storm. "Trust me!"

Marko looked out the front of the speeder which was going to collide with the pleasure barge headfirst if they kept to their course. He could see the slavers trying to manouvre it away but the vehicle wasn't made for high speed movement. He shook his head and climbed up on his seat and with a small prayer and a hand gesture, he leapt off the speeder.

Ahsoka guided him onto the back of her swoop unsteadily, beaten back by the ongoing wind, dust in their faces. But soon he was seated behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"We have to go back for Silis!" he shouted.

"I'm on it!" Ahsoka said, pulling back to let the speeding vehicle pass.

She circled around again, narrowly avoiding a harpoon and a charging swoop bike. Marko took care of it with his scattergun which Ahsoka felt kicking as they flew. The bike leveled with the driver seat and Silis had already locked the steering wheel and was waiting for them to get close.

"Jump, Silly!" Marko called, holding out his hand.

"You're too far!" he shouted back.

The speeder was closing on the pleasure barge which was desperately trying to escape in the other direction. Ahsoka edged the swoop closer and held up her hand, trying to steady Silis with the Force as he mustered up the courage to leap.

He was airborne for less than a second but it was enough for the wind to pick up and throw him off trajectory. He missed the bike but caught Marko's hand and held on tight. Ahsoka swerved away from the speeder as it collided with the pleasure barge, crashing through the transparisteel and sending a shower of glass in every direction.

The swoop bike zoomed away as the barge erupted in flames and Silis held on for dear life as Marko tried to pull him up. Ahsoka threw up a Force Shield to protect them from the debris flying out of the wrecked pleasure barge but her concentration faultered and she had to swerve to avoid a particularly big chunk of durasteel.

"Silis!" Marko shouted as the force rended them apart. "SILIS!"

He disappeared in the dust clouds which had grown bigger and more voluminous.

"We have to go back!" Marko shouted.

Ahsoka looked over her shoulder but there was nothing but dust and a faint yellow light.

"I can't see him!"

"It doesn't matter. Double back!"

"I can't see anything back there!

"You're a JEDI! Use the Force!"

"That's not how the Force works!" she shouted back but he was right. If anyone had a chance of finding Silis, it was a Ahsoka. "Hang on!" 

She doubled down over the handlebars and concentrated on feeling, seeing what was to come, not what was. Anakin had told her many times how he used the Force to pod-race back on Tatooine. It was about letting her senses do the thinking, not her mind and as they drifted into the asteroid field of transparisteel, she let them do just that.

They dodged and ducked and swerved and hovered over the debris which the dust storm had picked up from the wreckage of the pleasure barge. Ahsoka guided the swoop through it, searching for signs of Silis in the churning energies of the Force.

"There he is!" Marko shouted, pointing ahead.

Ahsoka slowed down and drifted closer. The worst of the dust storm had passed and the winds began to die down. Dust settled in the air, creating a foggy brown mist all around them.

"Silis!" Marko called out as the bike hovered to a stop. He climbed off the swoop and rushed off into the smog.

"Wait!" Ahsoka called out.

She switched off the swoop and followed him into the dust while the scanner goggles could still pick up his life signs.

"Marko!" she shouted but he didn't reply. He snaked through the wreck of a broken swoop bike and jumped over the driver who was out cold.

Ahsoka followed him at a sprint and they stopped by a big old rock that Silis was leaning against. 

"Silly!" Marko dropped to his knees and hugged him. "Are you alright?"

"Urgh, I think my leg's broken," he muttered through the stillness. With the wind gone, silence left the landscape eerie and empty but for the dust.

"I'm sorry I couldn't pull you up," Marko said, examining his leg.

"S'alright... argh...ssss. Did we get 'em?" 

Ahsoka looked up at the distant flames that were becoming more and more visible by the second.

"Oh yeah," she said. "We got 'em, alright."

\---

Ahsoka rode into town with a caravan of cages trailing behind the truck from Titrano. Lyza had sensed trouble and sent Bernando and Sofya after them just in case. They arrived in time to load up Silus and chase away the remaining slavers who conveniently left the caged Lysatrans behind. However, Eli was not one of them.

Gyza had four main streets that formed a quadrangle in the centre and the caravan rolled in much like it had into Titrano to the curious disbelief of the townsfolk that stepped out of their homes. 

Ahsoka sliced up the locks on each cage and Bernando and Sofya helped the emprisoned Lysatrans down to freedom and the comfort of their families. Many weren't even from Gyza but were still welcomed as family to the great relief of all.

Marko quickly found the town medic and ushered him over to where Silis rested in the back of the truck. Food and water appeared from several homes, nurturing the Lysatrans who'd found little comfort under the whip of a slave master. And Ahsoka helped hand out supplies and blankets and received a multitude of thanks and cheers as the Lysatrans remembered how to smile. Even the ranger appeared before her and shook her hand, thankful for the return of her sister.

"I thought I was never gonna see her again," Cassa said, brown eyes watering. "She disappeared without a trace and you found her."

"It's what a Jedi would do," Ahsoka said humbly. "I actually came here to ask for your help."

"Anything," she said. "Come with us. We can talk while I tend to Carriella."

"Sure."

The crowd soon dispersed into homes. Everyone found a Gyzan they knew well enough to consider family and the small town clinic filled up its beds with those worse for wear. Ahsoka followed Feredy and Carriella to their home near the ranger station and helped them run a bath.

Carriella was only sixteen and a little sheltered from life outside Lysatra, even outside her own town. Her hands still trembled as her sister sat her down in the tub and rubbed the dust and dirt and blood off her back.

"It's alright, Carrie," Cassa said quietly. "You're home now."

Carrie nodded.

"Did you kill them?" She turned to look at Ahsoka.

The young Jedi frowned.

"Jedi don't kill people, Carrie. Marko and Silis helped me free you and stop the caravan. I'm not sure how many of them survived but the wreckage looked pretty empty."

Carrie turned away and stared at the water.

"... should have killed them..." she muttered under her breath.

"Killing them won't solve anything," Ahsoka said. "That's why I need Feredy's help. We need to stop the one responsible for letting them kidnap people from Lysatra."

"Who?" 

"Talbo Jury."

"The Chief of Spaceport Security?" Carrie said in surprise.

Ahsoka nodded.

"I can't believe I didn't realise it," Feredy said. "He offered me a huge payrise and told me to sit at my desk and do nothing."

"He didn't ask you to sign anything did he? Like a slaving permit?"

"No, nothing like that," Feredy said. "Except that one document... oh no..."

"Ferrie, you didn't..." 

"It just looked like a standard indemnity form. I thought it was for one of the shipping companies."

"I can't believe you let them come here!" Carrie cried.

"She didn't," Ahsoka said, washing her own face in the sink. "It was Jury. He's been doing this since the Clone Wars started."

"That's around the time he came to me." Cassa nodded. "That no good lying piece of dust weed."

 

"We have to stop him," Ahsoka said. "We have to expose him for who he is."

"It's not gonna be easy," Cassa said. "Everyone trusts Jury and I'm... well..."

Carrie turned away.

"You'd have better luck with Savvi or Emiro. Their word carries more weight..."

"Savvi's dead," Ahsoka said quietly. "And Emiro tried to frame me for his murder. I'm not exactly a hero at the moment."

Feredy got to her feet.

"You are to me. And to my sister. To this whole town. We'll do anything we can to help you."

Carrie turned to look up at Ahsoka and nodded.

"Thank you. I'm just not sure where we go from here. Lyza contacted the other towns but-"

"Lyza?" Carrie interrupted. "Lyza Bianchi?"

"Yeah, from Titrano."

"Lyza Bianchi called her friends?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah." Ahsoka folded her arms.

"Well then, half the planet knows by now." She shrugged. "Did she tell them Jury is behind it?"

"Yes," Ahsoka nodded. "It was right after I found out."

"That's good," Cassa said, "Bianchi's rumour mill will work in our favour."

"How?"

"Listen, people have been suspiciously disappearing for as long as Lysatrans can remember but never in such numbers. We may live in Wild Space but we're not stupid. We know something's going on. And if Jury's behind it, we want him to pay."

Ahsoka watched her face darken.

Carrie leaned over the side of the tub.

"If you tell people Jury's been letting slavers kidnap people, they'll go to the city," she said. "They'll want him dead."

"We don't want him dead, Carrie," Cassa said. "We want him to pay for his crimes."

"Then at least tell them it's not safe to stay in their homes," Carrie insisted. "Tell them to go to the city. They have Spaceport security and Jury wouldn't let slavers take anyone from Lysan."

"That could work." Ahsoka nodded. 

"It'd keep people safe but there's still too many remote settlements out here," Cassa pointed out. "It could take days for them to get to Lysan."

"I've requested assistance from the Republic Fleet but I'm not sure when they'll arrive," Ahsoka said. "I need to stop the Harrowed Hand before they take anyone else offworld."

"There's no way to do that unless you take control of the spaceport." Cassa shrugged. "And only shipping companies have the permits to use the sky hook whenever they want. If a civilian buys a ticket, they'll screen you before you get on the turbolift."

Ahsoka frowned.

"If you say they tried to frame you for Savvi's murder, you can bet they'll be lookin' extra careful."

"You said shipping companies have permits, right?" Ahsoka narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah..."

"And if Lysan is full of refugees, security will have their hands full?"

"They'll definitely be working overtime."

Ahsoka nodded.

"Then I have a job for the Vanto Shipping Co."


	11. Chapter 11

Anakin struggled to pull on the sleek black suit which fit very snuggly and squeezed just a little too tight.

"How do you guys wear these?" he complained, zipping it up to his neck.

But the Chiss said nothing, silently pulling on the armoured black laminate as if it were all in a day's work. Anakin shook out his feet and pulled at the thick material where it rode up. He suddenly regretted leaving his robes behind but the Commander had been adamant he wear armour on this mission.

The Chiss were already well ahead of him, pulling silver rifles out of storage units to test and to load. Anakin sighed and lifted a black breastplate off the stand. He turned it upside down, looking for the head slot but it was nowhere near obvious.

"How does this even-"

Two strong hands pulled the breastplate up and over his head and thrust it down. Another pair slapped leg armour onto his backside and a third clicked in the complement from the front. Two soldiers pulled armoured gloves onto his hands and a third handed him a pair of thick soled boots.

Anakin examined them curiously, noticing that there was split in the back where rocket thrusters were likely to come out in the event of an emergency.

"How does this work?"

The Chiss in front of him pulled the tops forward, revealing an opening for a humanoid foot. Anakin stepped into the shoes which snapped closed and hugged his feet. He caught his reflection in the dark shimmering walls of the Springhawk and paused. Something eerie in the image.

A faceless Chiss soldier passed him a helmet and Anakin shook his head.

"I don't need that," he said. "I'll be fine."

"You need protection," the Chiss replied stiffly and through the mask, Anakin recognized his voice.

"Thrawn?"

The Commander nodded and pointed to the three silver lines running down his armour. The mark of an officer.

"I don't need a helmet," Anakin said. "I can see better without it."

"See better." Thrawn thrust the helmet into his hands. "Protect flesh." He tapped his neck.

Anakin frowned, remembering the throbbing red mark on Eli's skin and pulled on the helmet. It fit snuggly on his head like the rest of the armour and brightened the room, activating a heads up display which siphoned through a million alien characters per second.

"I can't read any of this," Anakin said, twisting his head left and right.

Thrawn grabbed the helmet with both hands, pushed it down and clicked it into place. Anakin felt the suit pressurize and grow cold. He swallowed.

"Vac-suits?"

The faceless Chiss said nothing, revealing not one iota of emotion but Anakin doubted it would have been any different without the headgear. Thankfully, he had the Force and through it he could feel the Commander's steady heartbeat, free of any malice. He reached out a hand and tapped a hidden button on the side of Anakin's helmet.

"You hear?" he heard Thrawn's voice loud and clear.

"Yes." He nodded.

"This is good," the Commander said and walked away toward the armory. "Machine will translate."

"Machine?" Anakin followed.

 _"Oh, is it working?"_ he heard a familiar voice. _"Master, can you hear me? It's See Three Pee-Oh, human/cyborg relations-"_

"I know who you are, Three Pee-Oh."

_"It seems to be working, Lieutenant," _the droid's bodyless voice vocabulated into his ear.__

Anakin grinned to himself as he followed the Commander into an adjacent room. The walls were open, revealing a vast collection of neatly compartmentalized weapons and tech.

Thrawn pulled a semi automatic rifle out of the silver mesh and popped open the casing. A nearby soldier handed him several ammo catridges and Thrawn adjusted the rifle to take the foreign design into account. It clicked into place, locked and loaded, ready to fire.

"You're not using energy weapons?" Anakin asked. He could hear Three Pee-Oh translating through the communicator and the Commander saying something back.

_"He says the enemy is resistant to energy weapons. They're going to use armor-piercing rounds for this mission."_

"Is that what the ladies were shopping for?" Anakin grinned.

Thrawn nodded.

He loaded up a semi-automatic handgun and passed it to Anakin who shook his head again and tapped the lightsaber on his belt.

"I don't need a blaster."

There was a murmur between translations.

_"Commander Thrawn says the enemy will not be defeated on principle alone and your welding torch may yet prove ineffective."_

"It's not a welding torch," Anakin argued but Thrawn seemingly ignored his complaint. He shoved the gun into a black holster and slapped it onto the belt around Anakin's waist. It locked into place and the flustered Jedi couldn't pull the thing off, even with his mechanical hand. While he was fiddling, the Commander slipped a pack of cartridges onto the other side of his belt.

_"He says a warrior must be prepared, Master."_

Anakin sighed.

"Fine. Let's just get this over with."

The Chiss kitted themselves out with rifles and blasters, each carrying a power pack as well as primitive ammo, silver grenades on each belt. Three of the soldiers equipped what appeared to be a flamethrower and a further three strapped ominous looking bombs to their backs.

Anakin suddenly felt a chill running down his spine. Something cold, like the Force was trying to tell him something but it was always cold around the Chiss. He shook his head and folded his arms, waiting for Thrawn's word.

The soldiers formed up into three squads and the Commander briefly spoke to them but no strategy was discussed. They all knew the plan and saluted before moving off toward the bulkhead in the bottom of the Springhawk.

It was an emergency hatch that opened up on top of the Separatist Droid Factory. The starship was keeping it blocked off with its shields and even though Anakin could feel every inch of the Springhawk and its crew through the Force, beneath his feet, he felt nothing.

And there was nothing quite like it. Even in the darkest of places, there had always been the Force. Ominous and brooding perhaps, but here? A void. And Anakin worried what would become of him down there. Would he even return?

The Chiss weren't enthusiastic about going in either and a few of them took a step back as the bulkhead opened. The bright blue energy field glowed eerily below them. One word from Commander Thrawn switched it off.

"Valuo’rus’pforas chah’batu’nah," he said and the warriors saluted.

Thrawn made to jump down into the hole but Anakin stopped him.

"Wait," he said. "I should go first."

The Chiss turned to look at him oddly and then at the Commander.

"No torch," he said. "The enemy will sense heat."

Anakin nodded and stepped up to the open bulkhead. He looked down into the abyss and without a second thought, jumped into the hole feet first.

He landed on something that didn't quite feel like solid ground. Instead, it squelched beneath his boots and reinflated when he stepped off. The helmet scanned the darkness and showed him a tunnel, covered with organic flesh just as the droids had been.

The skin moved, inflating and deflating in the dark corridor of the Geonosian catacombs. Now a hive of a different kind. Strange insects flitted about and crawled across the walls and the ceilings and Anakin felt his boots sinking into the mush, sucked in by living flesh.

He took a few steps forward.

"It's clear," he said and the Commander jumped down into the hole beside him.

"Ma'resh," he said to his men. "Ch'tra tsun bai'rae."

The Chiss began descending into the tunnel one at a time and Thrawn took the lead, rifle locked and loaded as he led the way. Anakin followed, trying to grasp at the Force for some kind of guidance but once the bulkhead closed behind them, he realised for the very first time in his life, how alone he really was.

He could feel the light extinguishing, contained inside himself, inside the Chiss though cold it was, but the world around them seemingly vanished from his sixth sense. He could see it but he couldn't feel it and the walls pulsed around him, pressing in from all sides. Empty. Living. And yet not.

"I don't like this place," he said. "The Force is... missing."

Three Pee-Oh translated and the Commander mumbled something.

"What did he say, Three Pee-Oh?"

_"He said you should be thankful the enemy is missing."_

Anakin frowned.

"How many times have you been down here?" he said, sloshing through a puddle of primordial ooze.

"Too many." 

The Commander stopped and held up his fist as he peered around the corner but it was clear. They soon came to a crossroads and Thrawn gestured for his men to split up, one group heading down each corridor.

"Will they be alright on their own?" Anakin asked, watching them move with the same tactical manouvres Thrawn was using.

_"He says a warrior's life is dangerous but they are well prepared."_

The Commander crept into the tunnel and his squad followed. Anakin stayed beside him and pulled out his lightsaber, though he didn't ignite it.

"You said you needed protection," he remembered.

Thrawn gave a curt nod, continuing down the path.

"What about the others?"

There was a brief silence but then Thrawn said something in Sy Bisti and Three Pee-Oh worriedly translated.

_"He says he may have angered the Yuuzhan Vong warriors and he fears they will come after him before they approach anyone else."_

"How did he anger them?" Anakin asked skepticly.

There was a regretful pause.

_"He cut out their eyes."_

_"What?!_ Why?"

"More simple to capture," Thrawn said.

"Capture?" Anakin pulled his shoulder hard enough to turn him around. "I thought you wanted them dead?"

The faceless mask shimmered. "One capture. The others must be destroyed."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Anakin hissed, grabbing his collar. The soldiers quickly pointed rifles at his head but Thrawn waved them down.

"You would then kill me," he said calmly as the Jedi seethed over him. "I have seen you run into battle with no thought to strategy. You seek to protect but destroy all in your path and you do not show mercy to your enemies."

Anakin let go of the Commander's breastplate and shook his head.

"You're wrong," he said. "I would have come with you."

"Perhaps." Thrawn adjusted his collar. "Ch'tra." He nodded to the soldiers and continued down the tunnel.

"You speak a lot more Basic than I thought..." the Jedi mumbled suspiciously.

The Commander replied in Sy Bisti and Anakin suspected very much from his tone that he was amused by the insinuation.

_"He says your tongue is like your people, Master. Full of exceptions and contradictions, yet completely predictable."_

"Tell him he's also too smart for his own good."

_"He says that may be true."_

Anakin smirked beneath his helmet as they continued through the tunnels. Then Thrawn stopped abruptly and gestured for the squad to take cover. They all pressed up against the slimy wall and crouched down. Listening. Waiting.

The sound of distant marching rumbled through the tunnels and Anakin closed his eyes, trying to find the source through the Force. But it wasn't there. There were intermittent blips in the distance. Cold, like the Chiss beside him and he realised the other squads were slowly moving into position.

Thrawn pointed around the corner and gestured to his men. Two of them strafed the distance to the opposite side of the tunnel and took cover. He held up his hand and they waited.

The distant noise grew louder, closer, easily distinguishable as the march of several battle droids, oddly out of time. The Chiss didn't move, hugging the walls even as they threatened to consume them and Anakin watched the slime dripping down the front of his helmet with distate. No energy, no pulsing beat or rhythm, not a drop of Force energy.

The droids marched through the corridor, fleshy skin clinging to the slimy floors with every step. They stopped to check the passage, finding several armoured soldiers on the ground, stuck to the wall, unmoving and Anakin was about to reach for his lightsaber.

 _"No,"_ the word came quietly and he stayed his hand.

One of the droids raised its arm and a bright light collected in its hand cannon, illuminating the scene. It moved dangerously close to the Commander but the Chiss remained still, unmoving as the maw opened up to reveal molten flesh coallescing into a fire bug.

The droids examined them for a few minutes but found nothing suspicious and resumed their patrol without delay. They marched off down the long corridors, echoes swallowed up by the fleshy coating of the tunnel.

The Chiss didn't move, waiting for the Commander's word.

Finally, he stuck his head out and peered around the corner.

"K'tein."

_"It's clear, Master."_

The soldiers began peeling themselves out of the fleshy walls and cleaning the gunk out of their rifles.

"Why didn't they attack us?" Anakin asked, peering down the corridor.

The Commander explained in Sy Bisti.

_"Your suit is layered with a synthetic mesh that absorbs radiation and hides your body temperature. The machines aren't intelligent enough to tell the difference between a corpse and a Chiss unless they are being directly controlled by a Yuuzhan Vong Shaper."_

"So you bet on them being alone?"

_"Their gait is more efficient and well timed when they are being controlled."_

"Right..." Anakin said, pulling his leg out of the fleshy wall. "Now what?"

"Ikeh."

The Chiss nodded and took point, rifles up and ready as they cautiously moved through the tunnel. The maze twisted and turned and took them down deeper. The slimy walls began to calcify and harden and form spikes and shells. 

The map in Anakin's heads up display showed the path forward, their only guide now that the Force was gone.

One of the soldiers up ahead stopped and raised his fist.

"Chei'sa, Crahstor?" Thrawn said.

"Nalisah ari anu'monai vran'sae'diga," he said.

"What are they talking about Three Pee-Oh?"

_"From what I gather, Captain Fotruv'ilie'baika has found a set of tracks leading deeper into the catacombs."_

"Tracks? In this place?" Anakin said, lifting up his foot only to watch the fleshy floor reinflate the indent made by his footstep.

The Commander considered the Captain's remarks for a moment and leaned down to examine the so-called tracks. Anakin heard him breathe out and for the first time, the Force revealed that Thrawn was experiencing a hint of worry.

"Are you alright?" Anakin asked.

The Commander got to his feet and nodded.

"Stay close."

They kept to the map, following the path it showed cautiously, changing their formation multiple times. Thrawn took to a more central position between several men and the Captain took point. They moved as silently as the quickly hardening floor would allow and then they heard it. The heavy steps of battle droids marching in time.

Thrawn gestured for them to fall back to the nearest intersecting tunnel and the Chiss followed his command. They split into two groups, three soldiers turned at the intersection and the rest continued down the corridor, including the Commander. Anakin followed.

"Why are we running?" he asked as the sound of muffled steel marching towards them grew louder.

"Distracting," Thrawn said. He stopped at the next intersection and nodded for Anakin to fall in behind them. "Cover flank."

"Uh, alright," Anakin said skepticly, turning to find the tunnel empty. "What about those guys?" He pointed at the incoming platoon.

"Vah'leh," Thrawn said and the Chiss opened fire. 

Six shots in as many seconds hissed through the air and hit home on some very hard metal frames, bypassing the skin which covered them. One droid fell, two others staggered and all of them let out the same awful screeching Anakin had heard in the Bonaly woods.

"YUUuuN ShEL HO QAL AHNASSA!"

"What in the world-"

"Machine," Thrawn commanded. "Analyze vocal pattern." 

_"Yes, Commander. Analyzing."_

The droids stepped forward, marching in time. They pulled up their hand cannons and aimed at the Chiss, warm light growing inside the barrels which opened up like mouths.

"Chah sloav," Thrawn said quietly. "Wait for my word."

Anakin looked worriedly over his shoulder and found more droids approaching them from behind. 

"Uh, Commander, we've got a problem here." 

Thrawn turned to look back and quickly fired off the rifle in his hands, catching several droids off guard. They growled in a throaty alien tongue; the same noise, multiplied by the multitudes and lifted up their hand cannons to fire back. Anakin reached for his lightsaber but Thrawn raised a hand.

"Not yet."

The Jedi looked at the fleshy droid army coming at them from both sides.

"I think now would be a great time, actually," he said, pulling the hilt off his belt.

"Wait," Thrawn told him, turning back to fire at the first wave of enemies.

"For what?!" Anakin demanded.

The hand cannons on the droids began screeching and tiny red hot beetles crawled out of them, ready to fire.

"Inah," Thrawn called out and tackled Anakin into the adjacent corridor. The soldiers dove into the tunnel opposite them as fiery screaming beetles hurtled through the air. A couple collided midway but the rest swooped past the squad and smashed into the incoming droids. 

Anakin watched the fiery trails streak past the tunnel entrance but Thrawn was already up.

"Come," he said, offering a hand.

The Jedi took it and got to his feet. They raced away from the intersection, the tunnel walls illuminated by combustable beetles exploding behind them.

"I hope you know where you're going," Anakin said as they ran, quickly losing his sense of direction without the Force to guide him.

"Here," Thrawn said, turning right abruptly. 

Anakin skidded past and doubled back to follow him. They raced down the thin corridor and Anakin's navimap started working again.

"We're flanking them?"

"Yes."

"Can I use my lightsaber?"

"Yes."

The bright blue blade erupted from the hilt in his hand with a satisfying hum.

"Finally."

They made another right and dashed toward the intersection ahead. It lit up with bright reds and gold, the colour of flames, the colour of war and Anakin pulled ahead. He quickly closed the distance, turning the corner and came barrelling into the droid platoon from behind. His lightsaber crashed down on the unsuspecting droids that were busy firing at each other and melted the skin from their chassis'. The plasma blade screamed with every slice it made against the durasteel inside and one by one, the platoon fell.

Anakin noticed bolts of energy flying past him, taking out several enemies while he sliced up the rest. He turned briefly to see Thrawn mowing down the droids that threatened to come at Anakin from behind. The tightly packed formation allowed for little manouvrability, especially for the clunkier super battle droids and the whole cadre was defeated before most of them could whip their unruly hand cannons around.

The Commander walked past Anakin as the last of them fell, keeping up a steady stream of charric fire against the platoon at the other end of the tunnel. There was confusion again as the droids attempted to turn around and attack the Chiss which had them surrounded. One targeted Thrawn and a fiery red bug escaped its maw, flying flew the air with a piercing scream.

"Look out!" Anakin lept forward and swung his lightsaber around like a bat.

"No!" Thrawn called out and tackled him out of the way. The bug went fizzling past their heads and exploded somewhere down the end of the corridor.

"Whaddya do that for?" Anakin hissed, rubbing the back of his head as the Commander got to his feet.

"They explode on contact. Pursue with caution."

"When did you learn all these words?" Anakin growled as he got to his feet and charged at the remaining droids.

It took them far too long to reload and the Chiss soldiers on the other side were keeping them busy. The Jedi had no trouble dodging their extremely obvious shots and closed the distance in seconds, slicing off a hand cannon about to launch a fire bug into his face.

Thrawn came running up behind him and dropped a energy snare onto the scuttling insect. It screamed and ignited as soon as it touched the glowing blue shield, exploding with a muted thump as it died.

Anakin swept through the rest of the platoon with the strength that came from within. The Force, growing and powerful, guiding his blade through the weakest points in the droids and their fleshy coating which had hardened into spiky armour. The lightsaber in his hand felt heavier and harder, the plasma broiling as well as cutting away at durasteel with far less resistance than he ever encountered before.

Two Chiss soldiers were hiding behind an portable energy shield, watching as the Jedi dismantled the droids in front of them. They peered out of cover curiously and rose when they saw the Commander coming.

"I like what they did to my lightsaber," Anakin said as he beheaded the last droid. "The power output is incredible."

"Let us hope it will be enough," Thrawn caught up to him.

"Enough for what?"

"Pfor'asu!" one of the soldiers pointed down the end of the corridor.

Thrawn dropped his rifle and pulled out another, loaded with armour piercing rounds and the others followed suit. 

"Dai!"

The sound of primitive gunfire filled the tunnel, muffled by their headgear but still loud enough to make Anakin's teeth stand on edge. With the flaming beetles extinguished, the light faded and visibility came down to only a few metres in front of them, flashing rapidly with gunfire.

Anakin probed the Force instinctively, searching for the enemy the Chiss had spotted. He found himself, the soldiers, the energy in their rifles and the void. Empty, running further into the darkness. And then he sensed something different. It was the same emptiness but concentrated, rejecting even the smallest particles of Force energy that existed around them.

"There!" he called out, pointing at a shadow. 

The soldiers concentrated fire and the sound of shuffling revealed itself under the rattling of cartridges.

"He's heading into that tunnel."

"Coparu ras'sah!" Thrawn commanded and threw down another energy shield behind the warriors, forming a small barricade inside. 

"What are you doing?" Anakin said. "We have to go after them."

"It's a trap. They flank as we do," Thrawn said quickly. "Stand ready for attack. Do not separate."

Anakin grabbed the hilt of his lightsaber with both hands, assuming a defensive stance, his back against the wall.

"Can I deflect their shots?"

"No shots," Thrawn said. "Staff become serpent."

"What?"

The Chiss repeated his words in Sy Bisti.

_"Commander Thrawn seems to be implying that the staff with which Yuuzhan Vong warriors do battle turns into a snake, Master."_

"Talk sense, Three Pee-Oh."

_"The Commander says that even the weapons of the Yuuzhan Vong are organic. The staff they carry is a living creature. He explained this during the briefing."_

Anakin frowned, he hadn't been able to follow the lecture in its entirety. So much information was rarely discussed in his military briefings and he decided his experience would carry him through.

_"Commander Thrawn also advises that you aim for the gaps in their armour. You should not attempt to cut through it as the creature could shortcircuit your welding torch."_

"For the last time, it's not a welding torch."

_"However, it should be able to parry the amphistaff."_

"The what?"

_"The snakes."_

"Snakes?" Anakin wondered, eyes darting left and right.

He glanced at the ground where molten metal was cooling down from his powerful slices. The floor was slightly singed in places, no longer slick and viscous and yet, something was shining.

"Snakes!" Anakin called out. "On the ground, incoming from both directions."

Three Pee-Oh translated his words and the Chiss quickly opened fire on the ground, their eyes spotting what Anakin had seen. Bullets rattled on the floor, ricocheting off something incredibly hard as it slithered through the debris.

Anakin turned to side with the Commander, spotting the thick black hose rushing towards him. Bullets barely grazed the creature, it's big eyes reflecting spots of light from gunfire. It slithered closer at a dreadful speed despite the bombardment and the Jedi moved in to meet it.

But the massive serpent had only one goal in mind as it lunged at the Commander. Anakin swung his lightsaber hard and made contact with the leaping snake but its skin didn't sizzle, its flesh didn't singe. Instead, it hissed at him and broke off the attack, coiling up to lunge again.

Anakin brought the plasma blade around harder this time, feeding his limbs with the Force energy he still had. But the lightsaber just batted the creature away like a stick.

"What are these things?" He swatted another.

"Parry," Thrawn commanded, pulling a small silver egg from his belt.

Anakin nodded. 

It didn't take long for the next snake to come lunging at the Commander and when it did, the Jedi stuck out his blade and parried. The serpent's mouth latched onto the glowing blue plasma, showering them with sparks. It snapped and hissed, trying to bite through it, its long tail thrashing wildly as it pushed up against him but Anakin held it.

He struggled against the serpent's massive jaws and just as it pulled back to redouble its grip, Thrawn tossed the tiny silver egg into its mouth.

"Throw," he called out and Anakin put all his strength into a massive swing of the lightsaber. It launched the serpent into the air and away from them but not fast enough to hit the ground before it erupted in a flash of violet light.

Anakin didn't have time to admire the view as more snakes leapt through the debris to attack the Commander. The soldiers did their best to keep them at a distance but the armour piercing rounds barely knocked them a metre back.

The Jedi hit harder, concentrating his energy on keeping the enemy at a distance but the serpents were relentless and one managed to slither into the barricade. It wrapped itself around Thrawn's ankle and Anakin swung his saber around to catch its fangs and hold its jaw open. Venom erupted from the serpent's mouth, covering the Commander's armor in a sickly green film. He didn't wait to toss a grenade in.

The Chiss pulled him back and Anakin grunted as he shoved the massive serpent away. He stabbed his saber into its tail, wedging it loose of Thrawn's ankle in time to see it erupt in violet. He threw up his hands instinctively using the Force to shield them from the impact. Big scaly chunks went flying but the explosion didn't hit them.

"Huh..." he contemplated as the remaining serpents slithered up to attack them again.

Anakin lifted a hand and concentrated on the Force, the exposed metal shells of the battle droids all around. He couldn't influence the snakes directly but he could control what landed in their path. 

The Chiss returned to lay down suppressive fire and Thrawn sprayed enough bullets into a serpent's eye to kill it. The Jedi gathered every single piece of durasteel he could feel within the tunnel and pulled it in at breakneck speed.

"Take cover," he shouted and Three Pee-Oh quickly translated.

The Chiss dove under energy shields in time avoid the incoming wave of steel and flesh. The serpents were swept up in the debris and smashed against the blue barriers, thrashing to free themselves without much luck.

Anakin gestured to Thrawn and he nodded. The soldiers rolled six tiny silver eggs out from the barricade and the Jedi threw his hands wide, throwing the Force out like a wave that swept everything out of its path. Six violet lights erupted through the tunnel, obliterating the serpents with a loud snap. The thunder of steel followed as the debris came crashing down, littering the tunnel once again.

"That wasn't so bad," Anakin said cheerfully, brushing the dust off his robes.

"Pfor'asu!" one of the Chiss pointed out again.

There, down the corridor where most of the debris had landed, was the hint of movement. The sound of heavy footsteps. The sound of insectoid wings flapping so fast they hummed.

Thrawn spoke briefly in Sy Bisti and opened fire on one of the shifting shadows.

"What did he say, Three Pee-oh?"

_"He says the Winged Warrior is coming from the western corridor, the others will circle around the debris to hit you from behind."_

"Since when do these things have wings?" Anakin complained.

"Implants," Thrawn explained, reloading his rifle.

"Oh. Great." Anakin nodded. "That's just great."

"Stay calm." The Chiss took aim.

Anakin looked over at him sheepishly. "Are you sure you're not related to Obi-wan Kenobi?"

"Focus."

"Alright," the Jedi sighed. "Let's do this."

Thrawn brought out another silver gadget and pressed a button. It gushed with white smoke and filled the air in the tunnel, lowering visiblity but the helmets seemed capable of scanning through it. Anakin could hear the sound of gargled growls, the same noise the droids had made when they talked.

"You think this will stop them?"

"No," Thrawn replied. "They will come. " He pointed to three entry points and moved out of the way. 

Anakin nodded, gripping his lightsaber tightly, the mechanical hand rippling with phantom pain. He shook his head and waited as the Chiss kneeled and took aim.

Heavy footsteps pounded the ground, coming closer. The wings weren't humming anymore. They were buzzing. Loudly.

"SHEL NGOYO RHUNAH ZHANG SAAH!" a deep voice growled from beyond the fog.

"Machine," Thrawn whispered into the com.

 _"Yes, Commander,"_ Three Pee-Oh replied. _"Sampling speech patterns now."_

The Chiss fired in both directions, letting loose the full arsenal of both charric and slugthrower rifles, resting on energy shields. Anakin reached out with the Force and picked up the debris again, levitating it to slam up again the ceiling.

He heard the satisfying crunch of steel against wings, followed by a similar grunt but it didn't stop the enemy. Thrawn turned to spray bullets in its immediate direction and they heard a scream. Long and gutteral, eerie and painful but somehow europhoric.

"TCHUROKK TIU BATA!"

The alien barrelled through the fog, brandishing a long staff with a serpent's head. He slashed at the Commander but Anakin quickly stepped in and parried, locking blades. His lightsaber shrieked and sparks flew as the razor sharp staff seemingly cut through plasma.

Anakin felt the Force lurch away from his blade though he held it tightly in his hands. He gathered the energy inside himself and propelled it outward, pushing his enemy back but the alien wouldn't cede. He glared down at him with a menacing grin, the spikes and scars on his face quivering with zeal.

"Go-tsaru'dzin sharu ngo?" he growled in Anakin's face, revealing the sharpened teeth in his mouth.

Thrawn took the opportunity to shoot the Vong but not before the alien could pull away, making it a glancing blow. The slug carved through his already truncated nose and spilled black blood all over Anakin's helmet.

The warrior shrieked in pain and brought his staff back around to attack the Commander again but Anakin tackled him out of the barricade. They fell to the ground and wrestled for dominance but the Yuuzhan Vong was stronger than Anakin anticipated. 

His fist was clawed with sharp black spikes and he slammed it into the Jedi's stomach, knocking the wind right out of him. Anakin hit the spiky wall hard and his armour crackled unpleasantly, disrupting the heads up display for a moment.

He crumpled to the ground as the warrior got up and stalked away and dropped the amphistaff he was holding. The serpent curled into shape, slithering over Anakin to bind him while its master was occupied.

The Jedi bucked and punched the serpent's head but the snake would not be denied. It wrapped around his hands and feet and opened its jaws wide, attempting to sink its fangs into the helmet. Tiny jolts of electricity sputtered from the shielded laminate as a crack formed in the faceplate.

Anakin rolled away, taking the snake with him and crushing its body with the weight of his own. It fought back but didn't let go and then Anakin's foot hit something hard, metallic. His lightsaber.

He reached for it with the Force as the amphistaff sank its fangs deeper and deeper into his helmet. The hilt of the blade came rushing toward him and landed emitter-first on the serpent's eye, quickly igniting to burn through its head.

The snake's grip loosened and Anakin quickly untangled himself from the thick black rope as he caught hold of his weapon. He jumped to his feet and rushed back to the barricade where Thrawn and the Yuuzhan Vong were fighting hand to hand.

The Commander's gloves were covered in blue energy fields, punching and blocking the alien's blows with more dexterity than Anakin would have given him credit. The Chiss behind him were holding the line with an unending barrage of gunfire that sounded like it was making contact somewhere down the tunnel. They tossed all the grenades they had, desperately attempting to hold back the Yuuzhan Vong which had circled around catacombs.

Anakin ran forward and leapt into the air, raising his lightsaber far above his head. The Yuuzhan Vong was engaged in pumelling Thrawn with his massive fists and assumed the Jedi was dead by now, his back wide open. Crumpled grey wings stuck out of his back like broken turbines and the armour around them had been recklessly hacked away.

Anakin remembered what Thrawn had said about aiming for the gaps as he plunged his saber deep into the Yuuzhan Vong's back. It sizzled through the wings satisfactorily and impaled the warrior's body, coming to a halt as it reached the breastplate. He quickly wrenched the blade out and found a sure spot to slice at his neck. 

Black blood sprayed from the wound as the warrior collapsed to the ground. Thrawn took a step back and a second to breathe. Anakin joined him, leaning onto his knees.

"Nice gloves," he panted, unable to resist the allure of new technology.

"Veir prah'dah," Thrawn shrugged.

"What?"

_"The Commander says you have the same, Master."_

"Oh," Anakin nodded, looking at his hands and the very obvious silver buttons near his thumb. "Cool."

"BRED QOL NATTEI'LUK!" a grating voice shouted.

Anakin and Thrawn turned to find the Chiss soldiers running out of ammo. They had exhausted their supply of grenades and power packs and soon the sound of gunfire died away, leaving the tunnel eerily silent.

The white mist had spread thin and in the darkness, they could see shapes and shadows, silhouettes moving through it. And then two pairs of blood red eyes appeared, glowing and pupilless. 

"Are those-"

"Implants," Thrawn said, taking up a defensive stance. The soldiers activated their gloves and a bright blue glow enveloped their fists and boots with energy fields. Anakin raised his lightsaber, gripping it tightly with both hands.

"How many are there?"

"Too many," the Commander said.

"You don't think we can take them?"

"No," the Chiss said quietly. "But we must."

 _"Commander! I have wonderful news,"_ Three Pee-Oh chirruped through the com. _"I have identified several key repetitions in intonation, phrasing and verbal pronunciation. It is most similar to a dialect of Jaguine."_

"What are you talking about, Three Pee-Oh?"

_"I can now partially translate what the Yuuzhan Vong are saying to you."_

"Great. What did they just say?"

_"The cowards are weaponless."_

Anakin sighed. 

"Thanks, buddy."

_"You are very welcome, Master."_

"GO-TSURA HUN'YAMOL DO-RO'IK VONG PRATTE!" the same grating voice shouted and up came the war cry, "DO-ROIK VONG PRATTE!" thundering through the tunnel.

"Well that didn't sound good," Anakin frowned.

 _"They said 'Death to the Blue Fiend and woe to our enemies.'"_ Three Pee-Oh translated. _"Oh my, how uncivilized..."_

Heavy footsteps hailed the ground as the Yuuzhan Vong Warriors took off at a sprint. They soon appeared at the edge of Anakin's vision, a long crack splitting the image in half inside his helmet.

"Any bright ideas?" Anakin licked his bleeding lips.

Thrawn straightened up from his battle stance and took a look at the portable energy shield generators for a moment. He tapped his helmet thoughtfully and then pointed at the base.

"Throw," he said to Anakin, gesturing his palm outward.

"Ah, I get it." The Jedi nodded.

He raised a hand, tapping into the Force. Its energy was warm around them, real and living after having battled the elements which kept it at bay. He felt the metal cylinders on the ground, tracing their edges and lifting them up into the air. 

Thrawn gestured for the Chiss to take cover and they crouched as Anakin frisbeed the energy shields forward into the oncoming horde of alien warriors. They whizzed through the air, slicing through the tunnel and coming into contact with the two leading the charge.

The energy fields made contact with alien armour and sputtered, shortcircuiting and bursting into flames. The small explosions slowed the Yuuzhan Vong considerably but did not diminish the zeal with which they relished the pain.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Anakin shrugged, returning to his lightsaber. "Should we call for reinforcements or make a run for it?"

"We stand," the Commander said, raising his glowing fists.

The Jedi looked at him skeptically.

"I'm all for suicide missions but this seems like a bad idea," he said. "Three Pee-Oh tell him we need to pull back."

"Certainly, Master."

"We stand," Thrawn insisted. His soldiers took up positions beside him.

"Ir'ressa, Crahsystor," one of them said.

"Ir'ressa." The Commander nodded.

Anakin sighed.

"I hope you know what you're doing." He raised his lightsaber.

The Yuuzhan Vong came charging at them in no visible formation. In fact, the closer they came, the more they could be seen shoving each other out of the way, eager to get their hands on the Commander who took a cautious step back.

Anakin plunged his blade into the ground and ran forward, carving a glowin red path through the calcified film and reaching the Geonosian stone beneath it. He flicked up the molten rocks and projected them forward in a storm of shrapnel as he ran at the Yuuzhan Vong.

The aliens were massively tall and powerfully built, covered in the same dark plated armour that resembled the carapace of some great crustacean. They embraced the shrapnel that shredded their faces and sliced up the joints between their limbs, howling with pain and excitement.

And then they clashed.

Anakin's lightsaber slammed into an amphistaff, bounced off and came back, again and again to parry the blows of two monolithic Yuuzhan Vong warriors with eerie Chiss eyes. He hit them with every drop of strength he had, pushing back as the aliens assaulted him mercilessly with razor sharp serpent staffs.

Two of the Vong pushed past and ran at the Commander, interrupted by his soldiers. One Chiss slid forward and slammed a glowing blue fist into the warrior's ankle. The other jumped up and kicked the alien's amphistaff with a glowing blue boot, thrusting the serpent's head into another.

Their fangs locked together for a moment, pulling the second warrior back unexpectedly in time to receive a glowing blue fist to the back of the knee. The Chiss swept his leg around and slammed it into the warrior's feet, felling him to the ground.

Thrawn stepped forward and caught the end of his Amphistaff as it began to soften. He ripped the serpent from the Vong's grasp and the one attached came with it, pulled from the hands of another warrior that received a kick in the nether regions from two blue glowing boots.

The Chiss soldiers swapped enemies and straightened their hands, running a perfectly sharp jab through the warriors' throats and spilling their share of black blood. The Commander rammed the two serpent's heads into the wall, piercing their flesh with their own fangs. The enemies dropped and new enemies came for them. Except for Anakin, who was struggling to hold his own against the Chiss-eyed Vong.

They grunted and roared, beating the Jedi back with powerful blows. Anakin could do little but block them. He tried to slice at the gaps in their armour, jabbing and riposting when he thought he could see an opening but the Vong were more than capable of blocking and countering.

Anakin began making small mistakes, fatigue eating away at his skill and the Force was never so weak inside him now that the Yuuzhan Vong were so close. Every blow from their amphistaffs sent Force energy scattering away from his lightsaber and he felt like the magnetic field holding the plasma together could break at any moment. The extra components from the Chiss held it together just barely and the Jedi began to feel like he really was fighting with a welding torch.

He swung up and down and locked blades with the Vong, saber screaming, muscles burning. They glared at him with burning Chiss eyes, too small for the sockets that held them. They weren't interested in fighting, only defeating Anakin and the Jedi struggled to fight back as more and more warriors slipped past.

Thrawn and his soldiers were ready. They ran up the walls and stepped off to land a spinning kick into Vong jaws. The Commander slid between them, pulling amphistaffs back to unbalance the warriors. He swept his leg through Yuuzhan Vong shins and let his soldiers finish them with a merciless stab under the arm, penetrating skin and bone with glowing blue hands.

More warriors came. Picking up the fallen amphistaffs and dual-wielding to swipe at the Commander recklessly, desperately as he dodged and side-stepped each blow. His soldiers flanked the new enemies who were uninterested in murdering anyone but Thrawn and glowing blue fists and boots left trails of light in the dark tunnel, so fast did they move.

Thrawn blocked and parried and dodged the endless barrage of amphistaffs and clawed fists, taking far more steps back than planned. The Vong fell away as swift Chiss hands left bodies perforated and bleeding profusely. The Commander saw an opportunity and dove left as his enemies came for him. He stepped off the wall and into a powerful punch that landed on the nearest warrior's jaw and rolled off his back.

The Chiss regrouped in the centre and six glowing blue hands struck out into key points, slicing tendons, obliques and femurals, pulling agonized screams from their enemies. They dove out through the openings they had created and amphistaffs collided in the empty space left behind. They tangled again and Thrawn and his men ripped into the Vong appropriately.

Anakin fell back as the red-eyed warriors shoved him away, irritated by his persistence. They tried to push past him again but the Jedi blocked their path, brandishing his lightsaber with furious speed and power. He was angry now. Frustrated. And unwilling to give up. He'd promised Thrawn he would protect him and Anakin Skywalker kept his promises. No one else would die. No one...

Fear and doubt crept into his heart as the monolithic aliens hammered at him again and he felt himself slipping. The Force grew hot in his mind, buzzing with the idea of his imminent failure.

"NO!" he shouted, letting the anger out momentarily. A wave of Force energy left him and forced its way forward, into the Yuuzhan Vong and pushed them away. It was only a few centimetres but it was enough.

Anakin let loose his lightsaber, ferociously hacking at the amphistaffs the Yuuzhan Vong threw up in his path. He beat them back, the Force inside him raging, churning, pushing back the void and filling it with darkness. They weren't immune. They weren't exempt. Everything was bound together through the Living Force, he just had to be strong enough to move it.

The warriors finally started to take him seriously, concentrating on defeating Anakin himself, rather than knocking him away. Their blows grew stronger, harder, lethal, bending back against the furious Jedi which had been pushed too far.

"Rrush'hok ichnar..." one of the Vong screamed in his face as they locked blades once again.

"Oh my, Master. The Yuuzhan Vong wishes for you to 'Die well'."

"Thanks..." Anakin struggled through the sparks flying in his face. "But no thanks..." 

He shoved him back and swept his blade into the warrior's side, hitting hard into the flesh just under the breastplate. His lightsaber fizzled and spat and Anakin pulled it back to go for the killing blow but the other Chiss-eyed warrior caught his blade with a staff.

"Rrush'hok qoh Go-Tsura'tsup!" he growled and Anakin felt something wrapping around his ankle. It pulled him back and he lurched away from the Vong and his staff. The warrior brought it around and smashed the end into Anakin's stomach, throwing him clear off his feet and into the wall. He slumped to the ground and several ampistaffs engulfed him, squeezing hard, constricting and choking the life out of him.

The Vong rushed forward and rammed the other warriors in their way, shoving each other aside in their relentless struggle to murder the Commander first. The competition was fierce and one of the Chiss-eyed Vong took advantage of the gaping wound in his counterpart, catching the hole with his ampistaff's fangs and tearing it apart.

The warrior roared as blood spilled out of his side and so did several organs but no one mourned him. Not a Vong stopped to help, only fight, battle and kill. 

The Chiss-eyed warrior swept them aside with his mighty staff and cleared the path, stomping forward on two massive feet. Thrawn's soldiers quickly moved into defensive formation around the Commander but their speed and dexterity meant nothing against the strength of the Vong warrior that batted them away like gnats.

Thrawn remained standing, alone and tired, breathing heavily, surrounded by the snakes and corpses that littered the tunnel floor. Anakin was down, struggling to free himself, the soldiers were unconscious and spent. There was no one left to protect him and the Yuuzhan Vong laughed.

A deep throaty bass that sounded more like a Rancor than a sentient. It reverberated off the walls but the Chiss didn't back away.

"Turroshok fa'kim, Go-Tsura," the warrior laughed. "Brukna'lip qoh laazz..."

_"A brave death, Blue Fiend," he says. And a foolish one."_

_"Crahsystor, nigerai'nah!" Fuoror's voice sounded through the com._

"Chen," Thrawn replied, raising his fists. They glowed blue, the energy fields flickering, dying as the stress of the battle took its toll on hardware. His armor was cracked and scraped, held together by the vac-suit underneath and his right arm was stiff and lowered.

The Yuuzhan Vong stepped forward and raised his amphistaff high above his head.

"No!" Anakin cried out, freeing a hand. He let his lightsaber fly, spinning into the amphistaff's path but the Vong swatted it away. More snakes wrapped around the Jedi's hand, binding it tight.

And the warrior lifted his staff once again. Thrawn jumped back as it came down on top of him, narrowly avoiding a blow to the head. He rolled to the side, evading a slice and attempted to flank the massive alien but the brute caught his neck in one hand.

"Zlik'ra..."

_"Finally..."_

Thrawn struggled against the vice grip around his neck, beating the hand to let him go but then the energy shield surrounding his fist failed and faded. His hand collided with the steely crab armour of the Vong and he hissed out in pain.

Anakin could hear him choking through the com.

"Fuoror... send help..." he muttered, trying to stay conscious himself, the serpents cutting off his blood supply.

 _"Crahsystor,"_ a different Chiss voice buzzed through the com. _"Pfilamounae lan'saru vahs."_

"Ma'r..." the Commander struggled. "Crahstor..."

Another Chiss voice connected to the frequency. 

_"Crahsystor,"_ he reported in. _"Golahni yasmi'xahs pae'ahn'pfu."_

The Commander struggled to get the word out of his mouth as the Vong crushed his windpipe. 

"Inah..." he whispered but it was enough.

 _"Ma'resh, Crahsystor,"_ several Chiss replied in unison over the com.

Anakin stopped struggling.

"Three Pee-Oh, what's going on?"

_"The target has been acquired, Master. The bombs are in place. Commander Thrawn has ordered them detonated."_

_"What?!"_ Anakin bristled, ripping into the amphistaffs again. "We're still in the tunnels!"

 _"We are aware,"_ Fuoror replied.

"You can't do this. You can't-"

There was a muffled boom somewhere deep below the ground. It rippled through the caverns, shaking the Geonosian catacombs and their Yuuzhan Vong coverings. The floor rumbled beneath them and hissed and Anakin fought hard to free himself.

"Thrawn!" he shouted but the Commander was no longer conscious. 

The Vong let him fall from his grasp and turned to search for the source of the vibrations that shook the tunnel. The massive warrior grunted, turning left and right and in circles, trying to identify where the noise was coming from but it came from everywhere. And then it stopped.

"Three Pee-Oh!" Anakin called desperately. "Help!"

_"One moment, Master. The peroxide solution has been detonated and converted to a gaseous form. According to the Commander's calculations and the schematic of the caverns, the vapour should reach you in a minute or two."_

"Vapour?"

_"Please don't remove your helmet, Master. It is very important that your vac-suit remain sealed."_

Anakin grunted and tried to roll over but the snakes were making it mighty difficult. The Vong spotted his movement and stomped over to kill him permanently this time but was interrupted by the loudest and ugliest cough Anakin had ever heard.

The alien retched and dropped his amphistaff, clawing at his throat as something made its way insidiously inside. 

The serpents constricting Anakin's limbs loosened their grip and thrashed about, hissing. The Jedi quickly untangled himself and crawled out of the viper's nest, pushing his back up against the wall.

The Yuuzhan Vong collapsed to his knees, his pale face somehow paler. His skin became ivory white and Anakin noticed the same discolouration happening slowing to his armour and the amphistaffs and even the walls.

He looked around and sure enough, the bleaching was rapidly spreading to every organic substance in the tunnel.

"Is-is it safe?" Anakin whispered.

_"Your suit will resist the effects for up to thirty three minutes, Master but do not fret. Captain Vilieba is returning to your location to assist you."_

"They did it?"

 _"Yes,"_ Fuoror said.

"What about the others?" Anakin looked over at the crumpled Chiss.

 _"Their heart rates are low,"_ Three Pee-Oh translated the Lieutenant's words. _"Oxygen saturation dangerously low on Commander Thrawn but they should survive, assuming the Captain can get to you quickly."_

"Where are they?"

 _"Close,"_ Fuoror said. _"It's over, Vran'sciuttor. Bar'ressa."_


	12. Chapter 12

The truck smelled. 

Bad. 

And Ahsoka had the distinct impression that it was used to ferry nerfs from one end of the galaxy to the other. She pinched her nose and tried to breathe in only whispers. This wasn't Senator Amidala's luxury space yacht, that was for sure.

The comlink on her wrist beeped with an incoming call.

 _"How you doin' back there, Ahsoka?"_ Jeb Vanto inquired.

"I'm fine," she said.

_"Sorry, it's a bit cramped in the container, but it's the only thing they don't check when you go through security."_

"No kidding. It smells like Bantha poodoo in here."

_"Yeah, they're pretty popular on this side of Wild Space."_

"Why would anyone want Banthas out here?"

 _"Milk, fur, meat, fertilizer,"_ Jeb listed. _"Them Vexessylans even ground up the horn for... uh... nevermind, you don't wanna know."_

Ahsoka wrinkled her nose. "Ew."

 _"It might be gross but they pay real well,"_ Jeb continued. 

Ahsoka could hear the slight trembling in his voice. He needed someone to talk to after what happened but he'd never admit it. They left Rosa in Lyza's care and now Jeb was on his own in the driver's seat, no eager little boy pointing out bird migration patterns beside him.

"We'll get Eli back, Mr Vanto," Ahsoka said quietly. She knew the chances were slim but he needed hope right now. Even if none of the three hundred and eighty eight Lysatrans she rescued had a clue where the boy was. 

Jeb sniffed, pretending he hadn't heard.

"We'll get all of them back," Ahsoka assured him. "The Republic Army is on its way."

Jeb cleared his throat with a hearty scoff.

 _"The Republic Army hasn't been to Lysatra in two years,"_ he said sourly. _"The Governor spends more time on Coruscant than he does in Lysan. It's probably too late to do anything anyway."_

"It's never too late," she said. "We have to do everything we can."

 _"As long as Jury gets what's comin' to 'im..."_ Jeb murmured darkly.

"Jury will stand trial for his crimes."

 _"He'll just pay off the courts, the government and anyone else that needs their gears greased,"_ Jeb growled. _"That milkin' piss hound. When I get my hands on him..."_

The comlink cut out and Ahsoka leaned her head back, frowning with worry. It didn't take much to convince the Vantos to help smuggle her into Lysan but Jeb's motives were troubling. As were the rest of the Lysatrans. From the most timid to the most daring, the people had united under one cause - the end of Talbo Jury and his slaver circuit.

Unfortunately, the only solution they could forsee culminated in the graphic dismemberment of Jury and his men, preferably by lightsaber, but Ahsoka overheard many colourful alternatives on her way to Bonaly. She privately worried that if the Republic didn't arrive in time, there wouldn't be much left of the slavers to prosecute. But that only meant she had to hurry.

Ranger Cassa had given Marco access to her broadcasting equipment and the signal swept over Lysatra, telling the people to come to the capital where they would be safe from slaver harvest. And the people had listened, sharpening their farm equipment and raiding ranger stations to arm themselves before embarking on the journey in large groups.

Even now, hundreds of thousands of refugees would be arriving in Lysan with safe harbour in mind but also - revenge.

Ahsoka hadn't meant to insight violence or civil uprising but what was happening on Lysatra could no longer be concealed from the public. Jury's operation had grown too large and his policies too lax and the people wanted justice. Perhaps she shouldn't interfere?

The young Padawan closed her eyes and meditated. She remembered the deserts of Tatooine where Anakin had taken her on one of their very first missions. They were tasked to deliver Jabba the Hutt's son back to the crime lord with the Jedi Council and Republic's full approval.

She remembered how Anakin's jaw clenched as they stepped off the transport, sand colouring his hair gold as the wind whipped over the dunes. He'd spent his early life on Tatooine, Obi-wan had told her later, not as a boy but as a slave. And the Jedi Council ordered him to march back into a slaver's den and hand over the Huttling as a peace offering.

Ahsoka remembered his aura from that day. The Force surrounding Anakin was troubled and tense, almost dark. Is that what the Lysatrans were feeling right now? The hatred spreading through their hearts like poison.

But it was not the Jedi way to murder, was it?

The Clone Wars were making a mess of Ahsoka's moral compass. Her adventures and assignments muddying the black and white teachings of the Jedi which had been a part of her life since early childhood. The war had forced her to kill in self defense but was she just as guilty as those who did in earnest?

"Master..." she whispered, searching for Anakin Skywalker in the Force. The vast web of energy spilled out from the speeding truck, over the plains, and touched the city and towns and long open ranges. 

And then Ahsoka realized, that the void was gone.

The great big gaping hole in the Force which had plagued her sleep was nowhere to be found and she could sense Anakin's energy, surrounded by something cold but alive.

"Master," she called to him, probing for a location, a clue or a hint. The smell of disinfectant filled her nostrils. A glint of gold like a certain droid she knew.

 _"I'm alright, Snips,"_ she heard his words, distantly. _"I'll see you soon."_

"Anakin," she said, opening her eyes and sitting up but she was still in the poodoo box and her montrals slammed against the lid of the container. 

"Ow..." She rubbed her forehead.

"What's that?" a muffled voice grumbled outside the truck which had come to a stop.

"Busted compressor," she heard Jeb say loudly, "savin' up to get me a new one."

"Hngh," the man outside grunted. "I know how that goes. What're you transportin'?

"The Bantha special," Jeb chuckled. "You wanna take a look, Fev?"

"Aw, nah. You ain't foolin' me twice, Vanto."

"You never know, I might be bringing in contraband," Jeb said sardonically.

"The wife made me sleep outside last time I opened one of your stinkin' crates, Jeb," Fev grumbled. "You can head on in but watch for pedestrians. We got a whole lotta people flockin' to the city. Typhos knows why."

"Ya don't say..." Jeb inquired. "Spa-Sec sortin' em out?"

"They don't care 'bout nothin' but the spaceport and the bigwigs. Rangers are tryin' to round 'em up but they keep slipping away, yellin' somethin' 'bout Jury being a garkhead."

"Well, I don't blame 'em. He's kept me waitin' three weeks on that loading zone permit I applied for last month."

"I guess you can do whatever you want when you're _Chief of Spacesport Security,"_ the man did an impression. 

"Ha, that was pretty good," Jeb chuckled. "I'll be seein' ya, Fev."

"Hey, drinks at Winners' around six?."

"I'll be there."

There was a double tap on the side of the truck and the vehicle slowly moved forward, hovering through the security checkpoint. Ahsoka said nothing, quietly frozen inside the container as Jeb drove into Lysan. The going was slow and the truck stopped several times before sluggishly hovering forward again. Eventually, they came to a halt but the vehicle didn't power down and Ahsoka's wristlink beeped with an incoming call.

 _"How you doin' in there?"_ Jeb asked worriedly.

"I'm alright," Ahsoka said. "Good thing you have all these oxy-pacs."

_"I thought you'd have gone through all of them by now."_

"Jedi breathing technique," Ahsoka explained.

 _"Right,"_ Jeb grunted with his usual pessimistic tone. _"Looks like the city's grid-locked. Can't believe Fev even let us in."_

"That bad, huh?"

 _"I know a shortcut to the warehouse,"_ Jeb said, _"but we'll have to make our way to the Spaceport on foot."_

"If you say so," Ahsoka agreed. "Can't see much from in here."

_"I thought you had all that Force sense and stuff?"_

"That's not how the Force works," Ahsoka smiled, remembering Eli's fervent curiousity about Jedi powers. Jeb had been a little boy too once. 

"I'm gonna try and meditate so the air lasts another hour," she said. "Wake me up when we get there."

_"Sure."_

Ahsoka closed her eyes again and put her hands on her knees. She melded her consciousness with the Force once more but instead of spreading wide, she traced the outline of the truck. It was surrounded by speeder silhouettes on all sides, each filled with a number of Lysatrans, bitter and angry, tense.

The streets of Lysan were the same straight lines and blocky buildings stretching out into a large grid that surrounding the sky hook in the center. And soon, the buildings became taller and wider, filled with objects, not sentients - the Warehouse District.

The truck made several strange turns like a snake wriggling through the forest floor and stopped. Ahsoka could feel a large door rising up, an energy field lowered. The truck proceeded slowly into the building and the big door started to close. Jeb powered down the vehicle and the back doors to the truck were opened. Two droids stepped inside and proceeded to unload the containers onto a hover-trolley. And Jeb popped open the lids.

Ahsoka opened her eyes and breathed in deeply, gulping down fresh air while she could.

"Oh, good," Jeb sighed. "Thought you'd... nevermind..."

The young Padawan smiled dizzily and sat up on the side of the container.

"Just give me a minute," she said.

"We've got plenty of time," Jeb shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"They've shut down the Spaceport."

"What?"

"Just announced it on the holonet. No civilians in or out without express permission from Spa-Sec."

"What about all the traders and foreigners?"

"I don't know but it's not lookin' good." Jeb rubbed the back of his neck. "Looks like Jury's on to your little plan. He's gonna stay up at the top of the sky hook where no one can get to 'im."

"We have to try," Ahsoka said. "You're a regular here, right? Maybe they'll let you in."

"You don't understand," Jeb frowned. "Jury has it in for me cos I don't peddle for his slaver mooks. And he knows I'm involved with you. There's no way he'd let me in there."

Ahsoka hopped out of the crate and popped open the other one. 

"Wake up, Artooie." She tapped his power button.

The droid's many lights and displays flickered on and the sound of a generator hummed to life inside. Artoo beeped excitedly, using his rocket thrusters to propel himself out of the container and onto the floor beside her.

"Artoo, use your long range scanners. See if you can pick up anything on the secure frequency Cassa gave us."

The droid chirped and obeyed, retracting a small dish that popped up from his domed head and started spinning.

 _"...gener-..."_ the muffled sound came from his speaker. Then static.

_"...understaffed... can't get to..."_

More static.

_"They're everywhere, boss."_

_"You round them up and send 'em packing, understand?"_

_"They just crawl back in from the other side of town."_

_"Put up a barricade. Lock down the city. Make sure no one gets in and those rubes stay out."_

_"Sir, we don't have enough men to do that."_

_"I'll send another twenty down. Round up the rangers from outside Lysan and tell them to keep anyone and everyone from entering the city."_

_"What about the aliens?"_

_"I've sent you a list of priority guests with special clearance. Anyone else is not allowed into the Spaceport, with or without permits. Blame it on a sky hook malfunction."_

_"Understood, sir. We'll do our best."_

The communication ended and static filled the Vanto warehouse. Jeb put his hands on his hips and shook his head.

"Rotten veen bag..." he muttered under his breath. 

"We gotta get up there somehow," Ahsoka puzzled. 

Jeb frowned, the curve of his mouth sinking so deeply into his skin that several lines appeared.

"If we can get our hands on that list..." he thought aloud.

"You think we can convince one of the slavers to take us up there?"

"If not with money, then with stock," Jeb shrugged. 

"I think they'd recognise me," Ahsoka said sheepishly. "Especially after we rammed their pleasure barge with a runaway speeder."

"Then I'll go," Jeb said. "We'll show them your astromech and box you up in the second container. Say it's in mint condition so they don't open it."

He folded his arms.

"Only problem is if they scan for life signs..."

"Let me worry about that," Ahsoka said confidently.

Jeb shook his head.

"No disrespect but we don't wanna be relyin' on Jedi Force tricks once we get in there, girl. This could all go very bad, very quickly."

"I can do this," Ahsoka put her hands on her hips. "It's what Anakin would want."

Jeb sighed.

"I'm sorry about your Master, Ahsoka. He was a good man."

"He's alive, Jeb," Ahsoka smiled. "And we'll meet again soon."

The stern Lysatran frowned and gave her a pitiful look.

"Alright," he brushed it off. "First, we gotta get our hands on that list."

"Where are we gonna find it?"

"Spa-Sec has security booths dotted all over town for the aliens that get lost and don't speak any Basic or Trade," Jeb explained. "Jury was talkin' to Dilanera on the com and he's just a low level flunky."

"So all of them should be getting a copy of the list?"

"Uh-huh." Jeb pulled out his busted up datapad. "Closest Spa-Sec booth is..." He checked the map. "2-28 Garibalo St."

"Alright, let's head over there," Ahsoka said readily. 

Jeb shook his head.

"Nah, they'll recognize you. I need your droid." He pointed to the astromech.

"Artoo?" Ahsoka folded her arms.

"He can slice the terminal if I distract the officer, right?"

The astromech beeped enthusiastically, spinning around.

"Don't get too excited, Artoo. This could be dangerous."

A series of appreciative tootles and chirps followed.

"What? Stop talking so fast."

"I think he's ready for this, Ahsoka," Jeb said, hands in his pockets. "Sit tight. We'll be back soon."

"You can't just expect me to sit here."

"You're right. There's a chemical hazard shower in the locker room." He gave her a key. "Use it."

\---

Jeb returned an hour later. He burst in breathlessly, herding Artoo through the side entrance with an aggressive kick. The droid was covered in a string of tiny flags and alu-tape.

"What happened?" Ahsoka asked as he wheeled in.

"Your stupid droid decided pick a fight with a merchant and zapped his pet Bull-Hound," Jeb growled irritably. "Why does an astromech even have an electric pike?"

"Uuh..." Ahsoka ummed. "Master Skywalker may have performed some upgrades."

"Bleedin' bucket of bolts almost got us arrested."

"Artooie, you know you're not supposed pick fights with anything bigger than you."

The droid beeped indignantly and wheeled away.

"Did you get the list?"

"Yeah." Jeb pulled out his datapad. "Let's take a look."

Ahsoka moved in closer to see.

"That's a lot of names," she noted.

Jeb shook his head. 

"None that we can use," he said sourly.

"What do you mean?"

"That barge you crashed belonged to the Harrowed Hand elites that were here on holiday." He scrolled through the names. "This is basically a list of survivors."

"Well, if I'm in the container..."

"They have to deal with me directly, Ahsoka," Jeb said with a frustrated sigh.

Ahsoka sensed his reluctance. The hesitation that came with guilt.

"What is it, Jeb?" she asked carefully. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I've pissed off more of these guys than you have," he admitted. "Last year, I let my old tug crash into their brand new transports up at the station." 

Jeb's brow furrowed guiltily. "The insurance paid out but they weren't happy cos they were on schedule for harvesting season. Without 'em, it turned into hunting season."

"Hunting season?"

"Not all the people get carried away to the slave markets, Ahsoka," Jeb said. 

His head fell, unable to look her in the eye.

"Jeb." She put a hand on his shoulder. "What you did was super brave. And don't worry. We'll figure something out. The Republic Army will be here soon..."

"The bleedin' Army is the reason this happened, Ahsoka," Jeb said angrily. "If the Republic didn't force us to contribute all of our forces to the blasted Clone Wars, Jury and his men would still be settlin' for scraps like they always have!"

Ahsoka frowned.

"You're right," she said. "It was unfair of the Republic to leave you stranded out here with no protection. But we can change it. I can help you if you work with me. We can help Lysatra together."

Jeb sighed, absently scrolling through the names again. And then his frown uncurled.

"Huh..."

"What?"

"Nevil Sygni."

"Who?" Ahsoka looked down at the list.

"I have no idea," Jeb said. "I've never heard of him."

"It says he's with the Mining Guild."

"Must be the guy picking up that huge shipment of Batrillium sittin' in the Cortes' warehouse," Jeb pondered. 

"What's Batrillium?"

"It's a liquid metal kinda like Bandorium but super concentrated. You can only find the stuff out past Wild Space so there's a hefty finder's fee. They use it for stealth systems out at the Kuat driveyards."

"How do you know so much about it?"

"Vernando Cortes has a warehouse two blocks from here. We have drinks at Winners' sometimes. Nice guy."

"Can he set up a meeting?"

"I think so," Jeb nodded. "Let me make a few calls."

\---

Night fell upon the Warehouse District but the windows didn't light up. Work was done for the day and the blocky buildings remained brown and grey, covered by the shadow of a sky hook all the way up in space.

Jeb Vanto left his warehouse, accompanied by a droid and a hooded figure. They moved through the growing shadows, avoiding lamp posts and bright neon signs and Spa-Sec officers. Workers drifted out and through the streets, avoiding the rush of refugees that bustled to and fro, looking for lodging. A few were bargaining for a place to stay in the crowded city and Jeb frowned, pulling Ahsoka quickly away from the exchange.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"Koris Vulpine pinch-hits for Jury when the slaver storehouses are overcrowded," he said quietly, pretending to make idle conversation. 

Artoo wheeled up behind them, untrusted to take the lead after his afternoon shenanigans.

"We should help those people," Ahsoka said, glancing back.

"Looks like they've caught the scent of Vulpine's garbage," Jeb replied, catching their reflection in a nearby window. "He's a greedy bastard."

Ahsoka slowed her step and watched the family turn tail and walk the other way. The warehouse owner made a rude gesture but didn't follow, disappearing into the building.

"Now, I'm going in first," Jeb told her as they turned a corner. "The droid will come with me and act as collateral. You hang back and walk around the block exactly twice and follow me in. Sit down, order a drink and watch my back. Understand?"

Ahsoka nodded.

"Will you be alright on your own?"

Jeb patted the blaster on his hip.

"I've been doin' this a long time, sweetheart," he said. "You don't stay in the shipping game long unless you can hold a good sabacc face."

"What does that even mean?" Ahsoka smirked.

"It means everyone's dirty," Jeb said, threading his hands into his jacket. "But not everyone can tell the blood stains from the shit stains."

"I think I can recognise the smell of Bantha poodoo pretty well now," Ahsoka wrinkled her nose.

"Not well enough," Jeb sniffed at her. 

But before she could make a flippant quip, he turned, walked through a hole in the wall and disappeared into a dark alley. Ahsoka kept walking, leaving Artoo behind. She kept to the shadows and pulled the hood of her cloak down, shuffling through the street and blending into the refugees.

Every kind of Lysatran had shown up in Lysan, only to find all suitable lodging taken. Families began cramming into hotels and inns the moment they arrived and now the rest were ambling the streets in search of shelter. There was little to be found but the alternative of staying in their small towns and villages was far less appealing when they could be raided at any moment. 

Ahsoka made her way around the block without incident. On her second round, she spotted a Spa-Sec officer angrily shouting at several Lysatrans to go back where they came from. A woman replied with two fingers pointed at the sky and swore as she passed him.

The Jedi padawan kept moving and upon reaching the hole in the wall again, she turned and walked into the dark alley. She let her senses spread, touching every inch of the narrow passage but finding nothing dangerous in its depths.

She could sense an opening at the far end. A door. And behind it was light and music and warmth. The smell of stale spirits and sweat after a long day.

Ahsoka approached cautiously but there were no Spa-Sec officers here. No security at all. And no signs either. 

She walked up to the entrance and pulled back the strings that hung off the doorframe revealing a low-lit cantina, busy with patrons that paid her no mind. She stepped inside and spotted Jeb in the far corner talking to two Humans. Artoo was parked under the table.

She took a seat as far away from them as possible while still being able to see and pretended to watch the Huttball game on the holoprojector in the centre of the cantina. 

"-I've shipped doonium before," she heard Jeb say with her Force-equipped ears. "It's always such a hassle protecting it from raiders."

"Yeah, well prices have dropped dramatically since the Trade Federation stopped using it in their droid production," one of his companions said. A lean man that looked like he'd spent a few too many years in the sun.

"Yeah, I haven't shipped it since they discontinued the Mark Ones," said the other stranger Ahsoka recognised as Cortes. He looked a lot like Jeb. Or two Jebs from a distance. 

"I hear they've opted for a durallium alloy to cut costs," the stranger said. Ahsoka wondered if he was really Nevil Sygni. She had expected a merchant of some kind. Maybe an appraisal specialist but the man sitting across from Jeb looked more like he worked a quarry.

"Huh, so much for those bottomless Trade Fed pockets," Jeb scoffed.

"It's not just a money issue," Sygni clarified. "Doonium veins are quite rare, especially the pure ones. They're just running out of stock and they're limited to the Confederacy of Independent Systems to mine it."

"Surely, they could just buy the stuff under the table," Jeb said. "Don't tell me the Mining Guild hasn't been approached with a tempting offer."

"We only make promises we can keep, Mr Vanto," Sygni told him. "Republic doonium's drying up and between you and me, we have enough contracts to last long past the Clone Wars."

"Only bet on a sure thing," Cortes said, taking a swig of his swill.

"Or face the consequences," Jeb nodded.

"You boys talking in code or something?" Sygni asked with a curious eyebrow.

"Waddya mean?" Jeb shrugged non-chalantly.

"Don't play dumb with me." The man hardened. "You think I haven't seen what's going on outside? The refugees flooding the city?"

Vanto and Cortes exchanged glances.

"You both know what's going on. Your cloaked wingman over there hasn't even ordered a drink yet. And the droid under the table?" His dark eyes narrowed. "What do you really want, fellas?"

Ahsoka quickly turned and found Jeb staring directly at her. He shook his head and she turned away.

"Who's the girl?" Sygni asked slyly. "Cortes said you were married, Vanto. One kid. A boy named Eli."

Jeb sighed and bowed his head.

"Damn..." he muttered. "Wasn't banking on you having brains."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Sygni shrugged.

"It's because of Eli that I'm here," Jeb said earnestly, dropping the charade. "We need your help."

Sygni took a tentative sip of the drink in his hand and threw a cursory glance toward Ahsoka.

"I'm listening," he said calmly.

"My son was taken three day ago," Jeb managed to say. 

"Eli was taken?" Cortes whispered. "I am so sorry, Jeb." 

"Taken by who?" Sygni pried.

Jeb lowered his voice. "Have you heard of the Harrowed Hand?"

Sygni let out a long sigh. "Yeah," he nodded. "I'm sorry too."

"It's too late for Eli," Jeb said. "But maybe the rest of Lysatra can get some peace."

"How?"

Jeb licked his lip and turned to casually glance around the cantina. Sensing no danger, he leaned in closer to the table and whispered.

"The girl back there is a Jedi."

Sygni took another curious glance over Jeb's shoulder.

"Little young, isn't she?"

"Padawan," Jeb admitted.

Sygni's face grew a scrupulous expression.

"And?"

"And," Jeb continued. "She busted up the Harrowed Hand's pleasure barge yesterday."

"Seriously?" Cortes said just a little too loud.

"Shhh."

"Sorry."

Sygni's eyes lit up with cunning. 

"They wouldn't be too happy about that," he said. 

"I don't care what the flaming slavers think," Jeb growled. "I want the son of a Hutt that brought them here - Talbo Jury."

Sygni studied his face carefully.

"You want me to smuggle her up to the spaceport..." he considered, "using the Mining Guild's clearance."

Jeb nodded.

"Republic Army will be here in a few days," he said. "We need to get Jury before he loads up those transport ships and leaves with the slavers."

"Interesting," Sygni pondered over his drink.

He took another sip without taking his eyes off Ahsoka.

"Can I speak to the Jedi?" he asked politely.

Jeb frowned but Ahsoka was already up and moving across the floor. A few heads turned but she didn't care. She pulled off the cloak and marched up to the table where the three men sat.

"You may," she said, folding her arms.

Sygni eyed the lightsabers hanging from her belt.

"Where's your master, Padawan?" he asked slyly.

"Anakin Skywalker is on Lysatra," Ahsoka said loudly. "I last saw him battling slavers in the Valuncar Gulch."

The cantina had gone silent, heads trained on the Jedi but no one moved. Anakin Skywalker was a household name. Alongside Obi-wan Kenobi. A hundred Republic victories. A hundred holonet broadcasts. And Ahsoka wasn't exactly a stranger to them.

"I need your help to stop Talbo Jury from enslaving any more Lysatrans," Ahsoka told Sygni. "The Republic will reward you for your service."

The man looked around the packed cantina and the passionate faces and sighed in defeated.

"Well then, how could I say no?"


	13. Chapter 13

Anakin walked through the halls of the Springhawk, stretching his aching arms and legs. His ribs were still on the mend after being constricted by several Yuuzhan Vong amphistaffs but the return of the Force and his old Jedi robes made him feel exceedingly better.

A few Chiss soldiers nodded as he passed and dispensed a polite greeting of "Vran'csiuttor" in acknowledgement. They weren't glaring at him anymore and Anakin felt something akin to respect when he consulted the Force for their true feelings. Their faces however, remained grim.

They'd lost a soldier in the tunnels. Anakin couldn't pronounce his name nor could he put a face to it. But the mission was an overall success otherwise and now, one of the Springhawk's escape pods contained a very angry Yuuzhan Vong Shaper.

Anakin ventured into the aft of the observation deck where Thrawn's office was supposedly located. He reached the end of the long curving corridor and found a door identical in appearance to every other on the ship. He squinted at the silver markings engraved into what Lieutenant Fuoror had described as "pfalmir." It shimmered black under the clinical white lights running down the length of the ceiling.

But it was useless to pretend he understood the complicated line of Cheunh characters running down the side. There was an intercom, though. And he found the big blue button obvious enough to press with the desired effect. The door slid open a few moments later and the fearless Jedi stepped forward into the darkness, sensing no danger inside. 

The bright white light that illuminated most of the ship was reduced to a soft glow, revealing the room to be no bigger than Anakin's quarters. Strange objects were leaned against the walls. A torn banner, a stone tablet, a calcified amphistaff, fang-shaped knives and containers full of needles. Some kind of ceremonial headdress hung limply off a storage hook. 

To his right, Anakin could see an adjoining cabin about the same size as the office. An indent was pressed into the bed where Thrawn had sat down to rest for a moment but only got as far as removing his jacket before reconsidering.

He sat at his desk at the far end of the study, chair turned away. Only his hand was visible, clutching a scrap of flimsi as he watched the nearby holoterminal. It played a live feed of the Yuuzhan Vong hissing and snarling, growling in alien tongues and Three Pee-Oh stood nearby, worriedly translating into Sy Bisti.

The Chiss remained silent but Anakin was ever the optimist and cleared his throat.

"Commander," he said, stopping at a respectable distance.

"Vran'csiuttor," the Chiss replied quietly.

"The Lieutenant said you'd be up." Anakin folded his arms.

"Mmm." Neither approval nor dissent, mere acknowledgement.

Anakin took a tentative step forward and leaned onto the guest chair.

"Anything interesting on the Vong-net?" he asked, turning his attention to the holoterminal.

"Oh, Master, it's horrible," Three Pee-Oh vocabulated. "The Yuuzhan Vong wishes to gouge the Commander's eyes from his head and graft them onto an amphistaff! He says there is no better use for such a snake."

Anakin frowned, watching the alien thrash about inside its prison. 

The pod was far too small to contain it comfortably but strong enough to keep it from escaping which it very much wanted to do. The Jedi could see dark burns and claw marks on the walls of its cage but every few minutes a white powder would erupt from some unknown crevice and dowse the creature, swallowing its screams.

Anakin turned to face the back of Thrawn's chair.

"How long have you been sitting here?" he asked suspiciously.

The Chiss took an audibly strained breath and let the flimsi page slip from his hand. It drifted down onto the table and Anakin squinted at it, recognising the liberal use of red and blue crayon.

"Hey, that's one of Eli's drawings," he said, picking it up to examine. It was indeed one of the young Vanto's masterpieces.

"I think the laser beams coming out of your eyes are a great touch." Anakin grinned but the Commander didn't think it very funny.

He lifted a thoughtful hand to his head, hiding what little of it remained visible.

"What do you want of me, General Skywalker?" he said stiffly.

"Actually, I'm more of a Jedi than a General," Anakin shrugged. "Especially without an army here at the moment."

"Jedi Skywalker, then?"

"Just Anakin would be fine, really," he shrugged. "You let me call you by your, uh, Core name, right?"

"Yes," he said, taking another laboured breath. "What do you want of me... Anakin?"

"Well, I'd like to know how long you intend to keep Eli and the others here," he said frankly. "We beat the Yuuzhan Vong. You caught the Shaper. And you promised you'd let everyone go when it was done."

Thrawn sighed and turned slowly to face him. The swelling had gone down but his face was still black with bruises and a thick band enveloped his throat where the warrior had choked him half to death.

"Wow," Anakin grinned. "They really did a number on you."

The red eyes studied him passively, their glow somewhat muted.

"Uh, shouldn't you be in the infirmary?" Anakin pointed at his right arm cradled in a sling.

"Perhaps."

The Jedi sighed.

"Look, I know you're hurting. I know what it's like to lose men on a mission-"

"Do you?" Thrawn interrupted, his eyes piercing red for a split second. "You say you clone warriors to fight." He studied Anakin grimly. "You send a child to do battle." He coughed into his free hand.

"Ahsoka is my Padawan learner," Anakin explained. "It's my job to teach her the ways of the Jedi."

"Murder?" Thrawn asked tersely. "War? You teach these things?"

"We didn't ask for a war." Anakin folded his arms. "Count Dooku and the Separatists did when they split from the Republic and started building battle droid factories all over known space. And I didn't ask for Ahsoka to be my Padawan either. She should be in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant with a Master much wiser and older than I am."

He let his arms unfurl and hang by his sides.

"But here we are." He shrugged.

Thrawn looked away, his bright red eyes settling on the drawings once more. His long fingers templed in front of his face as he leaned on the desk despite the silver cast on his arm. The stern expression evaporated, replaced with exhaustion. 

"Why do you have all this stuff anyway?" Anakin asked, looking around the room curiously.

The Commander inclined his head, searching for an answer in the collection of what seemed to Anakin like a pile of junk. But the Chiss studied each object with a zealous red eye, each one a gateway into something even the Jedi couldn't see.

"I study art," he said slowly. "The artist, their culture, their people."

He picked up one of Eli's drawings again. 

"To defeat an enemy, one must know them."

"Eli's not your enemy." Anakin frowned.

"No. He is a simple being," he said. "Embwaxu, laiwagni, othembikle..."

"Humble," Three Pee-Oh repeated. "Defensive. Loyal to a fault."

"That's Eli, alright," Anakin nodded. "At least, from what I know. You get all that from some drawings?"

Thrawn nodded. His eyes flickering between each rendering.

"He thinks we are monsters," he said quietly, his face all but disappearing into the darkness.

"Hmm," Anakin pondered. "Sure, looks that way, doesn't it?"

He glanced down at the variety of blue blobs with red blobs and lines depicting Eli's interpretation of the Chiss. One was melting a warehouse with laser beams coming out of his eyes. Another had lifted a speeder with his bare hands and thrown it at some unsuspecting Lysatrans. Another still was feasting on their blood with incredibly long and pointy teeth.

"Of course, in my extensive experience of being a ten year old boy..." Anakin picked up one of the drawings. "...he probably thinks monsters are really cool," he said with a sly grin.

The Commander's brow furrowed.

"We are not cool-blooded."

"No, that's not what I meant," Anakin said, sitting down in the guest chair. 

"You mean to say..." Thrawn paused for a moment. "Nsihawu?"

"Ruthless," Three Pee-Oh repeated.

"No," Anakin sighed. "Is there no word for _cool_ in Sy Bisti?"

"I'm sorry, Master, but there is no exact equivalent for _cool_ in my databanks."

"Really?" Anakin pondered. "Well, cool is..." 

He reached for a definition.

"You know how..." He looked around the room. "...you see a new starship." He lifted his hands. "And it's got all this new technology. Its engines hum and purr like a living thing. And it makes you wanna just hop in and fly to the edge of the galaxy. Like nothing can stand in your way."

The Commander's red eyes followed his sweeping hand movements.

"How does this relate?"

Anakin held up the picture. 

"Eli drew this from his imagination because he heard of a blue alien warrior with red eyes and immediately thought - cool."

Thrawn shook his head and leaned back in his seat.

"I do not follow."

Anakin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Okay. What did you enjoy doing when your were his age?" he asked.

"Enjoy is a strong word," the Chiss replied.

Anakin grimaced. Padme was the master of diplomacy with alien species, not him.

"Okay... Well, what did you first think of when you saw the Yuuzhan Vong?"

The Commander pondered for a moment.

"Lungua senyi," he said quietly. "Mdaba philayo luhamba ngokuxesh kunju zane kukhana..."

"Fascinating," Three Pee-Oh translated. "Organic matter travelling faster than the speed of light..."

"Ah, there. See." Anakin pointed out. "You thought they were cool." 

"I think they are barbarous," the Chiss soured.

"Now you do," Anakin said. "After you saw them kill your men and infect Humans with weird alien bug stuff but that feeling when you saw them the first time? You thought they were cool."

The Commander paused to think for a moment and then spoke in Sy Bisti.

"So you perceive the iconoclastic subversion of existing institutions as _cool?"_

"Uuuh," Anakin cocked an eyebrow. 

"However, they must be successful within the boundaries of morality, lest they lose legitimacy?"

"I think you're thinking about this too hard." Anakin put the drawing down in front of him.

"Cool is more of a feeling," he said. "You may not like something but you can still think it's cool."

"You are saying the boy shows interest in our species?" Thrawn queried. "Even if he experiences fear?"

"Yes," Anakin nodded enthusiastically.

"Interesting..." The Commander leaned into his hand thoughtfully.

"So are you gonna let him go?"

"No."

 _"What?"_ Anakin bristled. "Why not?"

"He is still infected. Our physicians cannot heal him. And he cannot be released without making danger to those around him." Thrawn cleared his throat painfully. 

"That's not what we agreed on." The Jedi tensed.

"I agreed to release him and the others when they no longer pose danger. This is not the case. Therefore the terms of our agreement are not met."

"If your doctors can't fix them, they should all be transferred to a real hospital," Anakin insisted. "Get a specialist team working on finding a cure."

Thrawn shook his head and reverted back to Sy Bisti.

"The Commander says releasing the afflicted to a Human medical centre would increase the chances of spreading harmful extra-galactic toxins, spores and bacteria. Should they reanimate without proper sedation, it is possible they will attack anyone that tries to assist them."

"There must be an alternative?" Anakin said severely.

Three Pee-Oh translated again.

"They will be taken to the Chiss Ascendancy for proper study and quarantined alongside the Shaper. With luck, our physicians will be able to remedy their illness. If not, their autopsies will bring us closer to understanding the biology of the Yuuzhan Vong."

 _"Autopsies?!"_ Anakin growled. "You'd let them _die?"_

"As would your facilities," Thrawn said sternly. "There is no cure."

"There has to be. It was just a bug bite."

"Commander Thrawn says the organism has grown large and grafted itself onto the victims' cerebellum and cervical vertebrae. It is unaffected by anti-biotics and specialized radiation. To remove it surgically would kill the host."

"You can't just take these people away from their homes," Anakin said angrily.

The Chiss closed his eyes and patiently opened them again. 

"They are already dead."

"They are _not_ dead," Anakin roared. "They are living breathing beings and you can't just kidnap them like this!"

The Chiss inclined his head, covering his already dark face with shadow. The bright red eyes held Anakin's glare and he was about to say something but didn't.

"I won't let you take them," Anakin said, fists curling. "I want all of them offloaded in Lysan as soon as possible."

Thrawn turned away, glancing at the holoterminal.

"Are you even listening to me?" Anakin hissed. "I won't let you do this-"

"Quiet." Thrawn held up a finger.

"No, you're not gonna shut me up," the Jedi began.

"The Shaper," Thrawn said. 

Anakin looked over at the holoterminal. The scarred and carved up face of the Yuuzhan Vong was motionless, eyes wide. The claws which had been scraping at the walls in search of escape were steady and still. Waiting.

"What's it doing?"

The Commander moved closer to the holoterminal, searching for an explanation. And then the crooked mouth of the Yuuzhan Vong widened into a wicked grin.

_"Grishna br'rok osam'ga ak-ren hu vushta, Go'Tsura..."_

It looked straight into the holocam.

"The Shaper says this is your final and most costly mistake, Blue Fiend," Three Pee-Oh translated.

Thrawn swallowed painfully as the Vong began to howl with gutteral laughter.

"What's going on?" Anakin said quickly. "What's it talking about?"

A chime emanated from the intercom on his desk and the Commander quickly swivelled aroundand tapped the key. 

"Ma'resh?"

 _"Crahsystor. Infirma ici ladu'keh-"_ the Lieutenant's voice was interrupted by blasterfire.

"H'sottor," Thrawn called to him but the com went dead. The Chiss sprang to his feet and hurried past Anakin and out of his office.

"Hey, wait!" the perplexed Jedi followed at a run.

They sprinted down the halls, slid down the emergency pole to the third deck and raced toward the medical bay where the sound of charrics erupted through the halls. Thrawn drew a pistol and Anakin's hand instinctively grasped the hilt of his lightsaber, ready to fight. They made one final turn and emerged at the doors to the Infirmary, broken and sputtering electrical discharge.

The Commander slowed and raised his firearm, left hand steady while his right trembled to support. He took a step forward but Anakin stopped him and motioned to stay back. Thrawn nodded and Anakin ignited his lightsaber as he took the lead. The doors to the Infirmary were bent out of shape and unable to open properly so he sliced open a passage to squeeze through.

The sound of charricfire died away, leaving them to wade through an eerie silence. Overturned beds impeded their path and shattered glass littered the floor. They came across two unconscious Chiss soldiers and the Commander leaned down to check their pulse.

"Alive," he whispered.

Anakin nodded, holding his lightsaber aloft to see the room better. The lights had been smashed in places and flickered intermittently. Visibility was low but he didn't need his eyes when he had the Force. He hurdled the bed they were using for cover and stepped forth into the darkness, sensing the eerie combination of emptiness and Force energy swirling through the room, messing with his perceptions.

And then a Human came rushing at him, his fingernails long and sharpened into claws. He swiped at the Jedi left and right but it didn't take more than a few steps to avoid. A slice of the lightsaber and the clawed hands were removed but the man kept attacking. He lunged at Anakin's mechanical arm and bit down on the durasteel, denting it with wickedly sharp fangs.

"What the-" Anakin managed as he gathered the Force and shoved him away.

The Human slammed against the wall and landed under a flickering white light, revealing the bright red veins corrupting his skin. His head snapped up and his jaw opened wide, releasing the same gutteral laughter Anakin overheard in Thrawn's office.

"...do-roik Vong pratte, Go'Tsu-" 

A blazing blue bolt made contact with the corrupted Human's face and irradiated the flesh past the point of recognition. The head weakened and parts of it fell off and then the rest of the body collapsed.

Anakin turned to see Thrawn coming up beside him, pistol up and ready for more attackers.

"Three enemies," he said, eyes bright and Anakin turned back to find another Human barreling out of the shadows.

He lifted his lightsaber up to block the sharp claws which held true against plasma, shaving sparks off with an ear-splitting scream. The Commander was already at his side, with a headshot prepared but the charric bolt did not fell the corrupted Human. He showed tremendous strength as he shoved Anakin away and lunged at Thrawn. 

The Chiss dove behind one of the beds and took cover as the Jedi came back around, swinging his blade in a wild Ataru sweep. The manouvre literally took the Human off his feet but he didn't stop, merely crawling towards Thrawn instead of walking. Two more charric bolts hit the Vong infected Human square between the eyes before he stayed down and then two more enemies appeared from the darkness. 

Anakin was there, taking up a Soresu stance by the Commander's side. He caught their vicious swipes and slices and lifted up his hand to Force push them away. But what would have sent a battle droid flying, merely staggered the man and woman or what was left of them. Their skin was ridged and hard, layered thicker like plating and their hands curled into massive claws.

"Looks like we have to do this the hard way," Anakin said, lifting up the toppled beds beside them. The Force let loose his makeshift ammunition and knocked the corrupted prone. Thrawn followed with several shots from his charric pistol and Anakin moved in to slice through the few parts of their bodies that were still soft.

"Crahsystor!" one the Chiss called from beyond the darkness.

"Csiutten," Thrawn called back, abandoning cover.

Several soldiers in black armour appeared, scuffed and scratched but alive.

"Chah'sorou?"

"Mmm," the Commander nodded. "Cheisa ici proi'shata?"

By then, Three Pee-Oh had ambled up behind them and power was restored to the undamaged parts of the ceiling, illuminating the Infirmary once more.

"Oh my, what happened here?" the droid vocabulated and Anakin sheathed his lightsaber.

The Chiss soldiers began to explain but Thrawn did not put his weapon away.

"It seems they've managed to capture a few of the 'afflicted', Master."

"Thanks, Three Pee-Oh," Anakin nodded as they followed the soldiers further down the corridor. 

They passed several Human looking corpses and reached a clearing where the beds had been moved into a barricade. Chiss soldiers circled a stasis field in the centre, rifles raised to point at three Humans suspended in mid-air.

"They are all that remains," Lieutenant Fuoror approached, looking a little worse for wear.

Thrawn gave him a silent nod.

"Eli..." Anakin whispered, spotting the third prisoner which two Chiss doctors were observing. A massive web of veins grew out of his neck, pulsing with every heartbeat. His eyes were bloodshot and red, angry, unfocused. But his hands were still hands, his mouth and teeth his own, even the skin was unbroken.

"Oriu koparei," Thrawn commanded and the stasis field surrounding Eli's head receded.

The boy began hissing and thrashing, the rest of his body still trapped by Chiss technology.

"Burok chattoh-gree smar uwo zode, Go'Tsura!" the same gutteral voice came tearing out of his throat. "Yuuzhan Vong sep-te ruk taergu'lack to povazz."

"He says this isn't over, Blue Fiend. The Yuuzhan Vong won't rest until your pitiful species is conquered and devoured."

Thrawn raised his charric pistol, barrel pointed straight at Eli's snarling face. His finger tightened around the trigger and Anakin barely had time to redirect his arm with the Force. The shot went off and landed on the ceiling with a thunderous roar, showering them in glass.

The Chiss quickly turned their rifles on Anakin but Thrawn did not wave them down this time. He pointed the gun at Eli again but the Jedi stepped into his path.

"Don't do this," Anakin said. "He's just a boy."

"The life of one Human boy is not worth the lives of my people," Thrawn said sternly. 

"Killing him won't save them," Anakin reasoned. "He's being controlled by the Shaper."

"This is my reasoning as well."

"Then you know which one of them has to die," Anakin said. "Without the Shaper controlling him, he'll go back to normal."

"That is unlikely."

"But not impossible," Anakin persisted. 

"I require living proof of the extra-galactic threat to my people," the Chiss said without moving. "I do not require him." His fiery eyes flickered toward Eli.

"I won't let you kill him," Anakin said.

The Commander glared menacingly but the Jedi didn't give an inch. Their stalement was punctuated by the intermittent growls and snarls of Eli cursing in Yuuzhan Vong. 

"You had the chance to do it before," Anakin said. "But you didn't."

"I was merciful," Thrawn said painfully. "I will not make the same mistake again."

"You weren't mistaken," Anakin said. "You did it because it was right. But you need to follow through."

The Chiss swallowed.

"Kill the Shaper."

"No," Thrawn hissed. 

"It will keep coming for you," Anakin said. "Over and over, until all the men standing between it and you, are gone."

"I need it," Thrawn said.

"The only way to protect your people is to kill it," Anakin told him, hand on his lightsaber. 

"Twenty eight warriors died to capture the Shaper."

"And how many more will die before you reach the Chiss Ascendancy?" Anakin said. "How many more once you get there?"

The Commander faultered.

"Are they all as brave and clever as you?" the Jedi wondered. "Are they all so lucky?"

The fiery eyes narrowed, glittering with thoughtful menace. The Chiss around them frowned, uncomfortable with the Commander's indecision. And he could feel it.

"You're not a monster," Anakin said quietly. "You don't have to be."

The charric pointed at his head began to lower and Thrawn's bright red eyes lost their fervour.

The Jedi exhaled a deep breath and lowered his hands.

"Thank you," Anakin said. "I'll kill the Shaper if you want."

"No." Thrawn shook his head. "I will correct this error myself."

He gestured to the stasis field and the Chiss operating the device swallowed up Eli's head in its gentle blue glow.

The Commander holstered his pistol and turned on his heel, hands clasped tightly behind his back as he marched away.

"I'm coming with you," Anakin said, following at a trot. "Three Pee-oh, keep an eye on Eli and the others."

"Of course, Master," the droid vocabulated, waving a metal hand in front of Lieutenant Fuoror's patient but irritated face.

The Jedi waved back and followed Thrawn out of the Infirmary. He didn't say a word as he marched through the quiet corridors of the Springhawk but Anakin could feel the tension in his mind. It was the same strained composition Chancellor Palpatine exhibited when his hand was forced into making a difficult decision. When all other options had failed, when peace was no longer a solution. It was usually when he called upon the Jedi and his armies.

They reached the lowest deck and walked past the engineering department, all the way to the back of the ship where six out of ten escape pods remained. One of them was guarded by soldiers and engineers who were observing the Shaper inside and dowsing it with a strange foam whenever it got too boisterous.

They stood up and saluted the Commander who stopped at a respectable distance in front of them. They were quickly dismissed but reluctant to leave, especially with the Jedi standing right behind Thrawn. But they still obeyed and returned to their duties, leaving them alone in front of the captured Yuuzhan Vong.

"Teekrah wuvr choktol siu'puab, Go'Tsura," it hissed through the speaker, face pressed up against the viewport and scowling.

Thrawn casually walked up to the glass separating them and the Vong lashed out, scraping its claws against serapfis with a noise Anakin remembered hearing back in Eli's room three days ago. Steel against serapfis. The alien viewport.

The Jedi turned to look at the missing escape pods. How many more had been used in an attempt to capture the Yuuzhan Vong? How many more had been destroyed?

Thrawn stood still, a hand clasped around the injured arm behind his back. He watched the Shaper curiously, studying its movements, its facial features. Its headdress curled into a mass of living serpents that hissed and lunged at the serapfis that separated them.

"Is it the last?" Anakin asked quietly.

Thrawn breathed out a painful breath.

"Yes," he said. "And no."

He pulled a lever to the right of the pod, revealing a hidden control panel and tapped one of the buttons and then another. His hand shuddered and he let it fall limply by his side as the Yuuzhan Vong backed away from the viewport and began to gag. The serpents on its headdress imploded as it struggled against the dwindling air supply. And then the life support systems depressurised the pod and the viewport turned black.

There were no screams, no shouts, no pain. Only the void which Anakin felt receding where moments ago the Shaper had stood. The Force returned to spread its energies through the space around them and the Jedi felt the tension in the back of his mind dissipate.

Thrawn calmly pulled out a handheld communicator and connected to Lieutenant Fuoror's frequency.

"Report."

_"Yes, Commander. The Humans have lost consciousness. Physicians assessing their health and vitals now."_

There was a scuffle on the other end but neither Thrawn nor Anakin moved and then the Lieutenant spoke once more.

_"Initial tests show blood flow to the alien organisms has been restricted. Discolouration of skin and vein exposure drastically decreased. Breathing normal."_

_"And may I say the Lieutenant's Basic has improved tremendously over the last few days,"_ Three Pee-Oh butted in.

"Liumas'chah baesali xian'feh," Thrawn commanded. "Pfor'asu kietahn'desai."

_"Ma'resh, Crahsystor."_

_"Master Eli is looking better already,"_ Three Pee-Oh said cheerfully. _"I'd better find a birthday cake--"_

Anakin couldn't help a tiny smile as Thrawn tucked the communicator back into his pocket. He reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder.

"You did the right thing," he said.

"The dead will have to be enough." Thrawn sighed and turned to face Anakin. "I was too focused on the details of this mission." 

He closed his eyes and opened them again. 

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Anakin grinned. "That's what Jedi are for. I think..."

The Commander frowned suddenly.

"Are you not a Jedi?"

"No, I am. I am," Anakin blustered. "I'm just trying to think of what my master would say in this situation. He's usually the wise and diplomatic one."

"Then he has taught you well."

"Don't let him hear you say that." Anakin grinned mischievously.

"Crahsystor!" a familiar voice shouted down the hallway and a familiar Chiss came running towards them.

"Ma'resh, Haensi," Thrawn acknowledged the abrupt entrant.

The Engineer rattled off a long and complex sentence in Cheunh without stopping to breathe and eventually had to gulp down some air to continue.

"What's he saying?" Anakin asked as the Commander's face hardened again.

"Some of the droids activated themselves and sent out a distress signal," Thrawn contemplated.

"Droids?"

"We took several for study."

"Of course, you did..." Anakin shook his head. "It's probably called down the entire Separatist Fleet by now."

"Mmm." Thrawn's bright red eyes glittered. "This should be interesting..."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this chapter is so long. i honestly have no idea what i'm doing anymore

Nevil Cygni was suspiciously sympathetic to the prospect of rebellion. Not only did he agree to smuggle Ahsoka and a few choice Lysatrans into the spaceport but his keen knowledge of its inner workings and past dealings proved indispensable in concocting the scheme which was now well under way.

Six crates of Batrillium left the Cortes warehouse in the early morning, yet three of them were suspiciously lighter than the others.

"I thought you said you had a tonne of the stuff last week?" Jeb grumbled into the comlink on his wrist.

 _"Yeah, some weirdos in black came in and bought half my stock a few days ago,"_ Cortes replied from the speeder lugging hover-trailers up front. _"Didn't say who they were though."_

"Seriously? I thought you had a contract with the Mining Guild?"

 _"He does,_ " Sygni interrupted from the passenger seat with an accusation.

 _"They offered me twice as much and handled the shipping themselves,"_ Cortes explained. _"I had to wait three months on the Mining Guild to even send a representative out here. You know I got kids to feed, Vanto."_

"Yeah, but who the hell walks around with enough credits to outbid the Mining Guild?" Jeb contemplated.

"There's a whole bunch of slavers out here," Ahsoka pointed out. "They seem to like throwing money around if it helps them get their way."

"What did they look like?" Jeb asked curiously.

 _"Uh, well..."_ Cortes ummed.

 _"Yes, Mister Cortes,"_ Sygni joined in on the questioning, _"what_ did _they look like?"_

 _"I... don't know,"_ he admitted.

"What?" Jeb snapped. "Are you blind?"

 _"They were all wearing black armour,"_ Cortes said quickly, trying to absolve himself. _"Military types. I never saw their faces. They spoke Mynnisiat but it was all warped through the mask."_

"Cortes..."

_"Hey, next time someone shows up at your warehouse and offers you two million credits for a pile of goo that's been nothing but trouble, I'll see what how fast you get your hands dirty."_

"You sold an unstable liquid metal to some weird armoured off-worlders. They could be Separatists for all we know!"

_"Yeah, well they paid in cash so..."_

"Unbelievable," Jeb grunted and waved his hands, smacking both painfully against the inside of the crate. "You and I are gonna have words after this, Cortes."

_"Lay off, Vanto. We don't all have your ties to Coruscant."_

"Guys, can we concentrate on the plan?" Ahsoka interrupted, sensing escalation.

 _"Yes, I agree with the Padawan,"_ Sygni said. _"Everything hinges on making it up the sky hook without being discovered."_

"Is someone else having Batrillium gonna cause us any trouble?"

 _"No, I don't see how it would,"_ Sygni said. _"The material is too raw to be processed without the right tools or training. Even opening the container incorrectly could render the contents useless in a matter of minutes."_

"Alright, then we don't need to worry about it," Ahsoka concluded.

Jeb mumbled something under his breath and Cortes grew silent. Their disagreements could wait.

The convoy hovered slowly towards the spaceport along with a plethora of other trucks and transport vehicles. Civilian access was cordoned off at the edge of the Warehouse District where Spa-Sec managed to set up a barricade so only workers and off-worlders were present.

"Lyza, how's it looking?" Ahsoka whispered into the comlink.

 _"We're giving the rangers something to deal with on the other side of town,"_ she said. _"We're almost in position here but there's already enough people to push past the Spa-Sec officers in a pinch."_

"Great. Just wait for our signal. We want to make sure Jury and the slavers can't get away before we make a move."

 _"Got it. I'll keep these people in line. Hey, watch it!"_ The com cut out and Ahsoka took a deep breath.

"You really think we can do this?" Jeb asked skepticly.

"It's not whether we can do this," Ahsoka said, resting her hands on her knees. "It's how we do it."

"What do you mean?" Jeb smirked. "We already have a plan."

"We may have a plan but what happens when we find Jury?"

"We ki-" he stopped. "I mean..."

Ahsoka looked at him sternly.

"Anyone can kill a sleemo like Jury," she said. "But it takes a special kind of person to bring him to justice."

"Well, I ain't no Jedi," Jeb grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You don't have to be," Ahsoka told him. "When the time comes, you'll know what you have to do."

He didn't look at her. In fact, he turned away and stubbornly stared at the wall.

"Eli wouldn't want his father to become a murderer, Mister Vanto."

"Eli is gone!" Jeb snapped. "Those bastards took him and now he'll spend the rest of his life slaving away for some pompous gark head if he isn't sold off for organs first!"

"You're angry."

"Of course, I'm angry! Am I supposed to milkin' thank them?"

"You're not the only one that's angry, Jeb," Ahsoka pointed out. "I can feel the people in this city hurting. They're all angry. And scared."

She took his hand.

"What's happened to Eli is terrible but you can't let them take any more from you," she said quietly. "You need to get him back but you have to stay you in the process."

"I don't need your Jedi plakara," He pulled his hands away. "I will find Jury and I'll make him tell me where Eli was taken." He looked down thoughtfully. "Maybe it's not too late."

Ahsoka sighed. It was a start.

The convoy hovered into the queue for customs at the spaceport.

 _"Looks like we got a big wait ahead of us,"_ Cortes said over the com. _"Line's a klik long."_

"Well, see if you can wing it around the Old Bench?" Jeb suggested. "We don't have all day."

_"Alright, sit tight."_

"What's the Old Bench?" Ahsoka wondered.

"It's for military grade exports," Jeb said. "Like a fast lane for the Republic Army."

"But you said the Republic Army left Lysatra?"

"They sure did. The Old Bench opened up as a fast lane to whoever had the credits and wanted to cut in line when it was too busy. Jury's idea. Since according to Republic Law they still have to staff it."

"Of course..." Ahsoka said disapprovingly.

_"Alright folks, we're headin' in," Cortes announced. "Turn off your coms, forget how to breathe and pray little Miss Jedi can work a miracle to get us through this blasted gate."_

"May the Force be with us," Ahsoka said.

 _"I'd rather have my blaster but thanks,"_ Cortes switched off the com and Ahsoka did the same. She settled down on the floor of the crate and closed her eyes, spreading her mind through the Force to feel the presence of a customs official approaching the truck.

"Ey, what do you think you're doin', Vern?" he said.

"Cuttin' corners, Barmi," Cortes grumbled. "What's it look like?"

"Line's back around there, smart-ass," the customs officer said, unimpressed.

"You expect me to spend all day waiting for those bleedin' Vexessylans to figure out how to reverse park onto a magnascale? I ain't got time for that," Cortes ranted. "One of them forgets to empty their pockets and we all get stuck waitin' forever while you lick 'em clean."

"Ey, ya don't like it? Don't work here, Cortes. We're backed up as it is."

"Backed up?" Cortes scoffed. "You got no idea what backed up means."

"Come off it, Vern. I'm not in the mood."

"Yeah? Well, let me brighten it up for ya," Cortes said. "See my pal here?" He pointed to Sygni. "Mining Guild Rep."

Nevil waved amiably.

"It's five hundred standard credits, thirty cataries, or a lacyon to use the Old Bench," the officer droned.

"I could buy my own dock at the spaceport for five hundred credits," Cortes started haggling. "Next you'll want my first-born and six litres of Arkanian sweet milk. Tell you what, since I made a small profit on my last job, I'll offer you five cataries and sixteen routex if you let us use your station here."

"No way. My time's not worth less than twenty cataries and a pitcher of ale."

"Hey, I don't see a line or anythin'," Cortes hussled. "Your time must be worth less than you think. So how's about ten cataries and I throw seven credits on that pitcher of ale, huh? Just think of that Lysatran gold pouring down your gullet in an hour or two."

"Make it twenty credits and you got yourself a deal."

Cortes rustled around in his leather pouch and poured a generous amount of coin into the officer's hand.

"Alright," he said in a much more appreciative tone. "Open up the trailers and let's have a look."

Cortes hopped out of the speeder and started unlocking crates while Sygni exchanged the necessary paperwork with the customs official. The old spacer reached the fourth crate and carefully opened it, letting light and air flood the space. Jeb breathed in loudly and Cortes quickly put a finger to his lips, mimicing for angry silence but Vanto waved him down.

Ahsoka stayed where she was, meditating and concentrating on what she needed to do. It wasn't one of her better skills. Anakin had taught her a lot but most of it involved a lightsaber and jumping out of a moving starship.

"Alright, paperwork seems to be in order. Manifest says you're shipping Batrillium to the Nez Capa System," Barmi said.

Cortes hopped off the trailer and walked over.

"That's right."

"Have you filled out all seven Hazardous Metals and Materials declaration forms?"

"Right here," Sygni said, sending over the digital documents. "Signed and authorised by the Mining Guild in relation to Cortes Storage and Shipping Limited."

"Let's see your HMM handling license," the officer turned to Vern.

Cortes ruffled his pockets and procured the ID for inspection, his glib attitude evaporating in routine.

"Seems to be in order..." Barmi noted. "Let's take a look at the goods."

He walked off and Cortes followed, peering over his shoulder. Barmi climbed up onto the first trailer and shone a torch inside the crate. There were a dozen reinforced metal barrels, labelled and sealed with the proper precautions.

Barmi's eyes studied them carefully and he pulled out his datapad to run down a safety checklist. Ahsoka could hear Cortes' heart beating erratically. The atmosphere was tense, they could all feel it, except for the customs official who went about his business with casual boredom.

"Why is there a spark glove over here?" he said.

Cortes quickly rushed over and swiped it off the barrel, tucking it into his back pocket, out of sight.

"Must have forgotten about it," he chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"You know that subject to Article BC-15A of the Lysatran Customs Declaration Order, no loose items are to be shipped with volatile or hazardous goods subject to the HMM Appendix." Barmi narrowed his eyes.

"It was an honest mistake," Cortes shrugged. "I would have picked it up when I unloaded the crates. You know I have to inspect them again before loading them onto the ship."

"Regardless-"

Cortes rummaged through his leather pouch and pulled out a strange gold coin which he placed carefully where the glove had just been.

"Oh, look. I seem to have forgotten some more _loose items_ in this big ol' crate. Brains full of holes today."

Barmi pocketed the coin.

"Well, these things happen," he said, turning to climb down from the trailer.

A similar story unfolded with the next two crates and by the fourth, Cortes' pouch was considerably lighter.

Sygni remained in the speeder up front, Ahsoka noticed. Out of view and in a prime position to run if trouble broke out. He shifted quietly as Barmi approached the fourth trailer.

Ahsoka reached out her hand and as soon as she saw the gangly man with sallow skin and wide set eyes, she reached into the Force and said, "Everything is in order here."

Barmi stared at her dumbly for a moment.

"Everything seems to be in order here," he nodded.

"You will let this convoy pass without further inspection."

Barmi nodded.

"I will let this convoy pass without further inspection," he agreed, tapping at his datapad. He turned around and walked out.

"Woah," Cortes said appreciatively. "Can you make him give me my money back?"

Ahsoka frowned.

"Okay, okay..." he muttered as Jeb gave him a dirty look.

Barmi hopped off the trailer as Cortes began locking it all back up. He followed the customs officer back to the terminal and grinned maliciously as he entered all the necessary details into the system without having to say a word.

"You're good to go," Barmi said, shutting off the scanner. "No need for further inspection. Here's your permit and receipts."

"Right then. Be seein' ya," Cortes winked and walked back to his speeder confidently.

"Bye." Barmi waved.

The convoy drove past him and Ahsoka let out a small sigh.

"It worked," she smiled.

"What do you mean it worked?" Jeb scrupled. "You weren't sure it would?"

Ahsoka winced.

"Look, I'm not the best at it but Master Obi-wan has taught me a great deal."

"I thought Skywalker was your Master."

"He is. Obi-wan Kenobi is a Jedi Master."

"But not your Master?"

"He's my Master's Master," Ahsoka folded her arms thoughtfully.

"So he's your Grand Master?"

"Uuuh... I guess." Ahsoka shrugged. "Look, we got through it, alright?"

"Yeah," Jeb said quietly. "Let's hope Jury wasn't watching on the holocams or we'll be in for a warm welcome."

"Think it's safe to turn on the comlink?"

"Wait until we get inside the spaceport."

The convoy drove off and circled around the long line of traders and into the side entrance where it stopped again. Two Spa-Sec officers asked for ID and permits and there was a nail-biting minute in which Ahsoka worried they would be found out but it passed and they drove in without reprimand.

A few minutes later the comlink on her wrist beeped.

"We're in," Sygni said slyly.

"Thank Satros," Jeb sighed. "How's it look?"

"Understaffed," Cortes said. "Must be spread thin all over the city."

"Lyza has a talent for stirring up trouble," Jeb noted. "Are we almost at the turbolift?"

"Yep, comin' up on it now."

"Let me call her," Ahsoka said, tapping the com.

_"-get off me... slaver scum-"_

"Lyza? Are you there?"

The sound of a scuffle in an agitated crowd fizzled out of the tiny speaker as Lyza's comlink rolled away.

 _"NOW!"_ she shouted and a horde of Lysatrans unleashed itself upon the Spa-Sec officers, thousands of footsteps thundering across the ground.

Ahsoka switched off the comlink before it made too much noise.

"I guess she couldn't hold out forever," Jeb said. "Let's hope we can make it up the sky hook before Jury shuts it down."

They fell silent as the convoy moved forward into the turbolift. It was much bigger than the one Jeb and the Jedi had used when coming down to Lysatra and they had to wait for several more trucks and trailers to drive in before the door was closed.

The lift pressurised and began rising steadily. Ahsoka felt the carriage gaining speed, shooting up into the sky and out of the lithosphere and into space, empty and dark but nothing like the void she had experienced on Lysatra a few days ago.

She wondered privately why it was gone and what part Anakin had played in its disappearance. His promise to meet again soon. Was he just being glib? Or was the Force playing tricks on her mind?

She shook her head and opened her eyes. It was best not to let those thoughts linger. She concentrated on feeling the space station they fast approached. It was many times the size of the spaceport on the ground, flat and round with many arms extending out into airlocks attached to starships like a big tree.

She could feel the many sentients inside, a sense of busyness but not exactly urgency. And there was something else too. The trucks parked in next to them were oddly energetic and alive, buzzing with fear through the Force.

"Slaves," Ahsoka realised.

"What?" Jeb said, his eyes wide with concern.

"The other trucks are filled with people," she said. "I can feel them."

Jeb frowned.

"Is Eli there?" he whispered.

Ahsoka closed her eyes again, searching for the boy, the tiny aura that was so similar to his father's and yet...

"I don't know," she said. "There's so many of them."

"We have to lock down the spaceport," Jeb said firmly, pulling out his blaster. "Before they take anyone off-world."

Ahsoka nodded.

The turbolift car slowed and clicked into the airlock at the top of the sky hook. The mechanism pressurised again and after a few safety checks, the big durasteel gate creaked open. The trucks and lorries and vans began to alight, one by one and soon the convoy of Batrillium trailers reversed out and drove off towards its designated hangar.

The so-called rebels held their breath as Cortes navigated his way through the wide open road that ringed the space station, slowly and inconspicuously making its way towards hangar 322-A where Syngi had parked his Mining Guild transport.

A bead of sweat trickled down Jeb's brow as the minutes went by and Ahsoka could feel the tension in his energy. The urge to leap out of the crate and start shouting for someone to reveal the location of his son. But he stayed his hand and remained by her side.

"Stick to the plan," she said quietly and Jeb swallowed.

They drove up to hangar 322-A and Sygni got out to chat to the Spa-Sec guard at the entrance and present his paperwork. The conversation was short but the rebels grew more tense with each passing second and then it was over.

Sygni got back in the truck and Cortes drove into the hangar, thankfully empty of any more Spaceport Security. He parked by the light freighter and the hover trailers powered down to rest gently on the floor.

Cortes came by and unlocked all the crates, releasing Jeb and Ahsoka and Marco and Cassa and Artoo. Ten more eager Lysatrans poked their heads and blasters out before entering the hangar.

"Looks like we're good to go," Ahsoka said, stretching her arms.

"Indeed," Sygni said, walking up to them. "I wish you luck in your endeavours."

"You're leaving?" Ahsoka frowned.

"I've done as you asked, Padawan," he said. "And now, I'm afraid I must get what's left of this Batrillium to the Nez Capa System."

"Coward," Jeb sneered.

"No, it's alright," Ahsoka said. "He helped us get where we are. Thank you, Mr Sygni."

"A pleasure. Now I must load these up before you lock down the spaceport."

Ahsoka nodded. "Good luck."

"May the Force be with you," Nevil smiled. "And give that jerk a taste of his own medicine, won't you?"

The Lysatrans nodded, pulling blasters and shock batons out of holsters and pockets.

"Alright," Ahsoka said, "Marco, Cassa, your team will head to the engineering deck and lock down all the hangars and airlocks. Jeb and I will take Team Two and infiltrate Jury's office. Once we're in, we'll send you the key codes you need to unlock the sky hook."

"But it's not locked," Marco said.

A loud klaxon blared through the space station, echoing through the hangars and halls to signal an emergency announcement.

"Attention visitors: access to the surface of Lysatra has been temporarily suspended following a mechanical malfunction with the turbolifts. We apologise for the inconvenience and would like to offer you a complementary beverage in the cantina while we deal with this issue. Spaceport Security thanks you for your patience and understanding."

"Looks like Lyza's rebel-rousing reached the spaceport," Jeb grinned.

"Let's go," Ahsoka beckoned and led the way out of the hangar. Artoo beeped and whirred and followed the young Jedi, as did Jeb.

"Nothing to see here," she said, waving a hand in front of the guard who nodded absently as the rebels dispersed into the crowded space station.

Ahsoka hid under her cloak and Jeb pulled a cap low over his eyes. Cortes, Foley and Riguez followed them with their casual warehouse worker tread, blending in with the other Lysatrans who were outnumbered three to one by aliens and off-worlders.

"Jury's office is this way," Jeb said.

Ahsoka turned back to catch a glimpse of Cassa and Marco slipping away in the other direction, guided by Vanto's drinking buddies.

"Do you trust them?" the young Padawan asked quietly.

"Sure," he nodded. "They've been waiting for a chance to get back at Jury."

"We all have," Cortes agreed.

"Can you see Eli anywhere?" Vanto asked, looking around as they crossed the intersection.

"No. I have to be concentrating," Ahsoka explained. "Let's just get where we're going."

They followed Jeb's circuitous route through the many rings of the Lysatra Space Station, hiding from holocams and avoiding patrol routes and general traffic by splitting up. More and more trucks of nondescript crates hovered by and Ahsoka tried to swallow her anger as she felt the energies of terrified Humans move with them.

"Alright, the Spa-Sec office should be right around the corner," Jeb stopped to point it out.

"Looks like Jury still has guards posted outside," Cortes whispered. "We'll need a distraction."

"No problem," Foley said, "just be ready to move."

"I'd better go with him," Riguez nodded.

They walked off toward the transparisteel facade of the Spa-Sec office and non-chalantly bumped into one of the guards.

"Hey, watch where you're goin'," the man grumbled.

"Kinda hard to see with your fat ass blockin' the way," Foley sneered.

"You wanna spend the night in a cell, you two-bit hick?"

"Think you can catch me, fat-ass?" Foley jeered. "How many mooncakes you had this mornin'?"

"That's it, you guys are under arrest," the guard announced and his partner moved in with a pair of binders. That's when Riguez revealed the blaster hidden behind Foley's back and stunned him.

The guard collapsed and his partner looked bewildered for a second, just enough time for Foley to let out a second shot. The sound brought more guards to the entrance, rifles and blasters raised and the two hooligans dove out of the way to make a run for it.

"Two officers down," one of the Spa-Sec cronies shouted into his comlink. "Two suspects heading down the 3rd corridor on Central Floor, moving to intercept."

Six more guards poured out of the office building and ran after Foley and Riguez who hurdled several trolleys and gained a much needed head start on the armoured guards.

"That's our cue," Jeb said, nudging Ahsoka forward.

They turned the corner and slowly made their way up to the Spa-Sec building. The automatic doors were closed but opened when Ahsoka appeared before them. Artoo scooted in confidently, straight through the lobby and up to the concierge. The others followed.

There was no one at the desk but they could hear an urgent murmur from the adjacent room.

 _"What do mean they're rioting?!"_ a man shouted.

More muffled murmuring.

"I don't care! And neither does Jury. Close down the spaceport on the ground and don't let any of those milkin' pissants get close to the sky hook. Is that clear?"

Reluctant murmuring, then a holoterminal powered down.

Ahsoka tapped the "Press for assistance" button while Jeb looked around at the holocams. The clerk stormed out of the adjacent room and slammed his hands on the desk.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"Just here to see Jury," Jeb said, lifting his blaster up over the tall console. "Tell 'im we stopped by."

"Vanto, you-" the clerk was cut off by a stun blast and collapsed like the others.

Jeb circled the desk and pointed to a dataport.

"Quickly, get your droid to generate an access pass."

"Come on, Artooie. We need a key," Ahsoka said, pulling off her cloak.

The droid wheeled up to the dataport and ejected a spike which slotted in and began spinning. Artoo beeped and cooed and Ahsoka put her hands on her hips.

"All access," she said.

The droid scratched static through its speakers and set to work as more guards came to investigate the source of the noise. And just as they were about to run into the lobby, a big blast door slammed shut in front of them.

"Nice work, Artoo," Ahsoka nodded, unclipping her lightsabers.

"They're gonna circle around the front," Cortes pointed to the doors. "Lock them down."

Artoo beeped angrily, the interval between beeps growing shorter and shorter until it almost sounded like a scream. But the front doors slammed shut and Ahsoka could see the guards approach and begin hammering at the transparisteel. And then a card popped out of the desk to which Artoo was attached.

Ahsoka pulled it out quickly.

"Download a map of the building," she said. "So we know where we're going."

"This way." Jeb beckoned down an open corridor and the others followed.

It didn't take long for them to encounter resistance and Ahsoka's plasma blades quickly found a use in blocking blaster bolts flying down the corridor. Jeb and Cortes took cover in an alcove either side of the hallway and returned fire, felling two guards before Ahsoka disabled the rest. 

Bits of rifles and armour rained down and six well placed kicks saw Spa-Sec collapse, one man at a time. And then they were off again.

Artoo beeped a warning and Ahsoka leapt up, thrusting her hands forward to push the Force into each unsuspecting officer as they came running. They flew back and hit the walls and each other, crumpling to the ground in a big pile and Jeb stunned the ones still conscious.

"The turbolift," he pointed to the upcoming alcove.

Ahsoka ran in and smacked the button with the hilt of her lightsaber. Artoo skidded on his magnapeds and rolled in as Jeb opened fire on the incoming wave of guards. A bolt of bright light collided with the wall beside his head, sizzling into durasteel and leaving a red hot burn mark in the surface but he kept shooting. Cortes ducked into the alcove and Ahsoka hopped out to block a few incoming bolts.

"It's not working," Cortes said urgently, smashing the button for the turbolift.

Artoo whistled loudly in his ear.

"Droid says we need the access card!" Jeb shouted.

Ahsoka deflected several blaster bolts and spun her lightsaber into a different grip.

"Little busy here!" she shouted back.

Cortes shook his head and turned to search the lift for another way in.

"What are you looking at?" he snapped at the astromech hopping between its magnapeds.

Artoo beeped indignantly.

"I know we need the card. She's busy!"

The little droid screeched and scooted away and around the corner. A tiny set of metal arms came out of its chassis and removed an access panel.

"Pass me the card!" Jeb shouted, firing off two more shots.

"It's in my back pocket!" Ahsoka shouted over the blasterfire.

"Hold still!" He reached for her but Ahsoka executed a backflip and Jeb grabbed at thin air, narrowly avoiding a blaster bolt by collapsing to the floor.

The turbolift doors sprang open and Artoo beeped triumphantly for them to get inside.

Ahsoka took three more guards down as Jeb got to his feet and pulled the access card from her back pocket. He dove into the turbolift and swiped the card, quickly selecting the right floor as Ahsoka, Artoo and Cortes came barreling in.

The turbolift doors closed right front of two armed Spa-Sec officers and Ahsoka switched off her lightsabers.

"That was close," she sighed.

"Ya think?" Jeb panted.

"You'd better hold on to the card."

Artoo let out a few choice beep boops and Vanto glared at the droid.

"Who programs their droids with sarcasm subroutines?"

Ahsoka grinned.

"Anakin Skywalker."

Jeb shook his head.

"Get ready for Jury's heavies," Cortes said. "He's got two Trandoshans guarding his office."

"Great..."

The turbolift doors swung open and Ahsoka went first, lightsabers up and ready, looking for trouble but the lights were deliberately shut off. She took a careful step into the corridor and ignited her blades, using them to illuminate the durasteel walls.

"Where is everybody?" she whispered.

Jeb stuck his head and blaster out to see.

"Hmmm." He looked around. "Weird. Thought Jury would have the most guards on this floor."

"Unless he's not here," Cortes followed, blaster up.

"You're right," Vanto stepped out into the corridor. "He's probably down in the cantina drinking with his slaver buddies."

Artoo cooed quietly as he rolled out of the turbolift with a scanner dish spinning around on his dome-shaped head.

"What is it, Artooie?" Ahsoka said quietly.

The droid beeped worriedly back.

"Yeah, I feel it too."

"What?" Jeb asked pointedly. "You see some kind of weird Force stuff?"

Ahsoka grimaced. "It's not Force stuff, it's-"

A shadowy figure leapt from the ceiling and tackled Vanto to the ground before she could reply. Ahsoka barely had time to cross her sabers and parry the second attacker and her wicked vibro-axe.

"Little... sss... Jediii..." she hissed in her face. "We've been waiting for you..."

Vanto shot three times, struggling under the weight of the giant lizard man but it had little effect on his padded armour or thick scaly hide. He lifted a claw into the air, ready to slice at Jeb's throat so he switched his blaster off safety and shot the Trandoshan in the eye.

The reptilian fiend hissed out in pain, followed by fury. Jeb used the commotion to shimmy out of his grip and put some distance between them while Cortes laid down suppressive fire.

Ahsoka was expertly duelling against an axe-wielding Trandoshan three times her size but the two spacers felt a little overwhelmed as they scrambled to battle the other.

"I'll enjoy ripping you go shreds, Vanto," he hissed and Jeb opened fire again.

He was a good shot, even in the darkened hallway but the bodyguard was a skilled fighter and way faster than he looked. The distance between them grew smaller and smaller as Jeb desperately fired the blaster with both hands. It caught the Trandoshan's shoulder with a glancing blow and he snarled as he raised his claws once again. Jeb pulled the trigger but all that came out of the barrel was a weak puff of tibanna gas.

"Jeb!" Cortes shouted, tossing a crowbar at the Trandoshan's head.

The lizard man hissed out in pain and rattled his skull. And Jeb took the opportunity to pull out his shotgun and unload the barrel straight into the oncoming Trandoshan's face.

Ahsoka turned to find the body collapse to the ground.

"Graazsssk!" the female Trandoshan hissed. "You'll pay for this!" She abandoned the Jedi and her lightsabers and raised the great big battle-axe as she ran at Jeb.

But he was still holding the shotgun.

Ahsoka and Cortes dove out of the way and Artoo was nowhere in sight when the pellets scattered. And the second Trandoshan flew back and collapsed in a spread-eagle beside her lover.

Jeb cocked the shotgun and the casings went flying.

"What is _that?"_ Ahsoka asked, brushing herself off.

"Slugthrower." Jeb hefted the weapon onto his shoulder. "Your fancy energy weapons won't work on Trandoshans or shields."

"Huh..."

Artoo wheeled in and beeped loudly.

"Yeah, some help you were," Cortes grumbled at him.

"Let's get going," Ahsoka nodded.

"Be careful," Jeb warned. "They were expecting us. They were expecting _you."_

Ahsoka frowned.

"You think it could be a trap?"

"Definitely."

"Should we call Marco and the others?"

Jeb's eyes scanned the darkened room.

"We might need backup," he said.

Ahsoka tapped her wristlink.

"Marco, can you hear me?"

No reply.

She tapped at the wristlink again.

"Cassa, Cortes. Does anybody read?"

There was a drawl of static.

_"...'soka? Is that you?_

"It's me. We're almost inside Jury's office. We think he's set a trap for us. Watch your back."

_"...trap ... jammer... locked down... can't get..."_

"Marco? Marco!"

_"… help us …"_

"Dammit," Jeb cursed. "Jury must have known we'd try to lock things down."

"We have to save them," Ahsoka persisted.

"It might already be too late," Jeb said.

"Yeah," Cortes nodded. "It'll take us a good twenty minutes to get down there, especially with all the security."

"But he's left his office wide open," Jeb pointed over his shoulder. "We might as well check it out."

Ahsoka frowned.

"We can't just leave them in Jury's hands."

"Everything's in Jury's hands, Ahsoka. It's time to start taking things back. Starting with the data on his dirty business dealings."

"You think there's a record of where Eli was sent?"

"Jury's a very tidy monster and he likes having enough records to blackmail his business partners into giving him more money."

Ahsoka chewed her lip.

"I've seen the databanks," Jeb pressed. "Let me find my son. Please."

Ahsoka studied his face with her big brown eyes.

"You'll go without me, won't you?" she said.

Jeb nodded.

"I can start heading down there," Cortes said. "Meet up with Foley and Riguez and assist the engineering team."

"Alright," Ahsoka agreed. "But be careful."

"Sure." Cortes nodded.

Jeb swiped the card through the turbolift access point and Cortes tapped the button, disappearing as the doors closed before them.

Artoo beeped sporadically.

"I know, Artoo. We'll go back for them once we have the data," Ahsoka promised.

They hurried down the hallway and turned abruptly at Jeb's direction. The little astromech confirmed they were going the right way and ejected an electric probe from his chassis.

"Hey, watch where you point that thing," Jeb dodged to the left.

An unhappy whir followed.

"Ssshh, we're comin' up on it now." He pointed.

The double doors looked the same as every other doorway they had come across. Sleek, silver, smooth and old. As old as the space station itself, Ahsoka thought.

She ignited her sabers and nodded to Jeb who took cover by the wall and swiped the access card. The outlet beeped and its little light turned green.

He nodded. Ahsoka nodded back and Artoo cooed softly.

Vanto held up three fingers and silently counted down before smashing the keypad with a closed fist. The doors slid open and something clicked and whirred. A hailstorm of laser bolts erupted from the opening and Ahsoka Force pushed herself out of the way.

"Turrets!" she yelled over the cacophony of blasterfire.

Jeb smirked and pulled out a grenade. He offered it to Ahsoka and she reached out a hand, concentrating the Force to levitate the small object. It floated up and around the corner, disappearing as Ahsoka lobbed it at the turret.

The blasterfire was interrupted by a satisfying explosion. They pressed up against the wall and plugged their ears and Artoo activated suction on his magnapads.

Parts of the turret came flying out of the doorway and Jeb grinned as he got to his feet.

"Let's hope the datacentre wasn't damaged," he said as the dust cleared.

Ahsoka took a moment to probe the Force for further disturbances or energy anomalies but there was nothing in the area.

"Any more of them?" Jeb asked, priming his shotgun.

"I don't think so," she said, "but we shouldn't let our guard down."

"Right."

They poked their heads out and peered through the dust, quickly spotting the remains of a devastated turret.

"Datacentre's this way," Jeb said and rushed ahead.

"Hey, wait." Ahsoka reached out a hand but he was already too far.

He hurried through the office and disappeared into an adjacent room. Ahsoka followed, with Artoo trailing in behind them.

"This way," Vanto called. "Come on."

They moved into a long room filled with big brass servers towering over them.

"This is it," Jeb said. "Whole spaceport runs on these, keeps records of ships, manifests, everything. Eli's kidnapper will be in here somewhere."

"Artoo," Ahsoka began but the droid was already scooting towards the dataport. It plugged in and began spinning the dataspike left and right, searching files.

"Well?" Jeb pushed.

"Give him a moment."

"Eli doesn't _have_ a moment, Ahsoka. And neither do Marco or Cassa. We need to hurry."

Artoo beeped suddenly.

"Empty?" Jeb spat. "You've got wires loose. It can't be empty."

Artoo explained in binary.

"He says the system has been reset and all the data was wiped very recently."

"Jury..." Vanto's hands tightened around his shotgun. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Jeb..."

"No, Ahsoka. He needs to die before he ruins anyone else's life."

"You can't just kill him," Ahsoka raised her voice. "There's no proof he did anything without the data. And we can't keep the slavers here indefinitely. We need him alive if you want justice for Eli."

"Justice?!" Jeb roared. "What _justice,_ Ahsoka?"

He gripped his shotgun tightly.

"Jury deserves a blaster bolt to the face for every Lysatran he's ever wronged. Including Eli."

"Jeb, calm down."

"I'll calm down when he's dead!"

 _"Weh-heh-hell..."_ a staticky voice tisked. _"Sounds like the rebels have run into a bit' a' trouble."_

The two of them turned to find a working holoterminal beaming up an image of the Chief of Spaceport Security.

 **"** ** _Jury_** **..."** Jeb snarled.

 _"Jebadai Matteo Vanto. My favourite small time logistics specialist,"_ Jury said amiably. _"Lookin' for somethin'?"_

"You know damn well what we're looking for, you regurgitated sack of pello shit," Vanto hissed.

 _"I'm afraid I had to purge the system,"_ Jury grinned. _"It seems we have intruders running around the space station despite the special protocols I set into place."_

"No protocols are gonna keep you safe, Jury," Jeb snarled. "Nothing in this world or the next will keep me from blasting your brains out once I find out where Eli went."

 _"Eli? Is that what this is about?"_ Jury chuckled. _"I'm afraid I have no idea where your son is."_

"Krayt spit," Jeb literally spat. "You've sold half the planet into slavery and we've let you get away with it up until now cos we thought it was the aliens. But it was you! _You_ sold us out!"

 _"It's not my fault if your boy wandered a little too far into the woods, Vanto,"_ Jury shrugged. _"People disappear all the time. Maybe, as his father, you shoulda been lookin' out for him."_

"Where is he, Jury?" Jeb growled.

 _"How am I supposed to know?"_ he said, shifting in his seat. A mug of ale appeared in his hand and he took a sip.

"Why are you contacting us?" Ahsoka interrupted.

_"Ah. She's the smart one, then,"_ Jury grinned. _"Y'see, I've been forced to provide some entertainment for our guests while the sky hook is being repaired."_

"You mean locked down," Jeb hissed.

 _"For the safety of all our visitors, o' course,"_ he winked. _"And while we're waitin', I figured I'd give them something to do and make a little profit at the same time."_

Ahsoka frowned, sensing ripples of danger in the Force.

"What have you done, Jury?"

 _"See, I figured you'd break into my office, try to kill me or whatever it is you Jedi do."_ He shifted in his seat and a robe swished through the hologram as someone passed by. _"So I thought it would be fun to watch, y'know? See the magic happen."_

"You're broadcasting this?" Ahsoka realised.

 _"It's more of a private screenin',"_ Jury said slyly. _"Lot of important people want you dead, sweetheart. I'm just providin' a platform for their frustrations."_

There was an irritated hiss of an alien tongue behind him.

 _"Aaaand the bettin' pool just closed,"_ Jury said heartily. _"289 to 1 on the Jedi being decapitated. Ooh, I like those odds."_

Ahsoka frowned.

"You won't get away with this," she said.

 _"Ah, such drama,"_ Jury smacked his lips. _"You shoulda been a holonet star."_

More irritated hissing came rattling over his shoulder.

 _"Alright, alright. Let's get this started."_ He tapped a key. _"Nice knowin' ya, Vanto. Oh, wait. It wasn't."_

The holo cut out and the terminal powered down. The quiet hum of servers whirred, cradling the silence as Ahsoka and Jeb were left speechless for a moment.

And then Artoo started beeping.

"A backup?" Ahsoka said.

A gargle of droid noises followed.

"He must have moved the data to a new set of servers somewhere in the station," Jeb said thoughtfully.

"Check the map for a room just like this one, Artoo."

Jeb pulled out his comlink.

"Cortes. Cortes, can you hear me?"

_"Loud and clear, Vanto. You get the data?"_

"Server room's empty. Jury moved the system and the data."

_"Where?"_

Artoo interrupted with some blip bloops.

"Third level down. Room 363, past the Sanitation Department."

_"Got it. Moving now."_

"Did you contact Marco?"

Ahsoka ignited her lightsabers and blocked three blaster bolts as they came whizzing through the door. Five reptilian soldiers stormed the server room with back up not far behind. The young Jedi deflected and parried and sliced through weapons and the soldiers were quickly defeated and replaced by more.

Jeb pocketed his comlink and fired on the next wave of enemies, scattering slugs through their laminate armour which surprisingly caved under the ancient tech.

They fired off two shots which barely missed Jeb as he dove between the server towers for cover. Ahsoka spun into a flurry of bright green plasma blades and quickly neutralised the threat. She took cover behind one of the walls beside the entrance and waited.

The sound of heavy, laborious footsteps came booming into the room followed by the same guards the Jedi encountered in Valuncar Gulch. The tall, rotund aliens with electrostaves hissed and snorted to one another and received several unexpected lightsabers to the face.

Some of them blocked. Others didn't.

Ahsoka leapt out from cover with a riposte and a lightning fast spin and slice that disabled three enemies and left the others open for a direct hit from Jeb's shotgun.

Artoo ejected an electric probe from his chassis and zapped one of the aliens struggling on the floor. But more soon followed and Jeb was out of ammo.

He pulled a blaster just like Eli's from a concealed holster and fired on the enemies battering at Ahsoka with crackling electrostaves but the red bolts barely singed their padded armour or skin.

"Typhos' balls," he swore under his breath.

"There's too many!" Ahsoka called out, dodging electro-staves whizzing at her head.

Jeb pointed his blaster across the room, squinting to aim and let loose a bolt which landed straight on the keypad controlling the door. It slammed into the side of a great big alien, crushing and disarming him as he dropped his weapon.

The mercenaries behind him attempted to squeeze through but succeeded only in pushing their unfortuate colleague forward before the door slammed shut in front of them.

Jeb quickly sent a stun pulse his way and covered Ahsoka from behind as she duelled several aliens at once. The young Padawan did her best to quell the remaining enemies, slicing and stabbing and blocking with mind boggling speed until they were down.

She breathed out as the last one fell and dropped her hands to rest for a moment, panting but alive.

"What do we do now?" Jeb asked desperately.

"Is there some other way out of here?"

"No." Jeb shook his head. "That door's it."

Artoo beeped worriedly.

"Transmission?"

"Where's it coming from?"

The little astromech detailed in a series of squiggly beeps and boops.

"A capital ship orbiting the station?" Jeb smirked.

"Play it."

Artoo's miniature projector beamed forward a hologram of a big metal droid with long, spindly arms and legs, yet his eyes were eerily organic.

"This is General Grievous," the cyborg growled, his voice shredded by a vocabulator. "Lysatra is now under occupation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Resistance is futile."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we interrupt this broadcast to bring you an epic space battle


	15. Chapter 15

Anakin stood beside Thrawn on the bridge of the Springhawk, overlooking the space station and the small armada of Separatist starships which had just emerged from hyperspace. They surrounded the station in a logical and somewhat unimaginative pattern, threatening with their numbers and size. A huge capital ship was spread out before them, a hundred or two turbo lasers primed and ready.

"You were right," Anakin said, taking a step up to the railing Thrawn was leaning against.

Twelve different holographic overlays were projected in front of him and below, the bridge was laid out in a crescent moon shape for the scrutiny of the Commander's gaze. Every Chiss dutifully manned their station and waited in silence for orders or changes in the battlefield.

"They can't see us?" Anakin squinted at the capital ship for signs of engagement.

"No," Lieutenant Fuoror said quietly from below. "Systems running at minimal power. The extra coating of Batarupfa seems to be absorbing radiation successfully. We are invisible. For now."

Anakin folded his arms as he stared out at the many ships before them. The Commander had correctly estimated their time of arrival from the droid's signal and positioned the Springhawk accordingly. But the Jedi still had reservations about attacking the armada head on. He'd contacted Obi-Wan and Mace Windu and Plo Koon but all of them were equally tied up in battle and could not answer his summons.

All that remained was to trust Thrawn and the Chiss could keep the Separatists busy until help arrived.

"Your assessment?" the Commander turned his head slightly.

"That's a lot o' ships," Anakin gave a slow shake of the head. "Four Gozanti cruisers, three Munificient star frigates that are probably battlecruisers and that looks like Grievous's Providence-class dreadnought."

"Ordinance?"

"The Gozanti's are mostly supply ships but they can carry extra starfighters and sport dorsal and ventral laser cannons for close combat. The frigates are nasty. They've got turbolasers, ion cannons, laser cannons and carry up to 150 thousand droids each. If they land, it'll be big trouble for ground troops."

"The capital ship?"

"Yeah," Anakin rubbed the back of his neck. "That thing's got thermal shielding, dual laser cannons, ion cannons, tractor beams, proton torpedoes and is filled to the brim with vulture droid fighters."

"Droid?" Thrawn pondered and turned to Three Pee-Oh. "Ukuhlakani omunge khona?"

"Artificial intelligence?"

"Kinda," Anakin said. "They have a bunch of restraints to prevent them from going rogue which limit their 'intelligence'. The more of them there are, though, the smarter they get."

Thrawn gazed out the window intently, one hand gripping the rail, the other limp by his side. The Separatist ships had the Lysatran space station surrounded but no one had put up any shields yet. And no one had tried to leave.

"They're wide open," Anakin frowned. "They had to have seen the transmission by now. Even responded."

He closed his eyes and drifted into the Force, searching through the many and varied energy signatures.

"Ahsoka," Anakin opened his eyes wide. "My Padawan is on that space station!"

"I know," Thrawn said calmly.

"What?"

"Lieutenant Fuoror has been scanning communications using your droid. Her name and description have been repeated more and more frequently over the last hour."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You said you had... ikkimbin nahlamu."

"A mystical connection," Three Pee-Oh translated.

"We do... kinda," Anakin said. "It's not something I can access at any time though."

"Interesting. In any case, I assumed you ordered her aboard the space station." Thrawn pondered quietly without looking away from the view wall.

"She seems to have destroyed an office and server room of some description," Lieutenant Fuoror reported. "Accompanied by one human male. Last name, Vanto."

Anakin frowned.

"The space station is under siege," he said.

Thrawn nodded.

"They are in no position to defend themselves."

"Then we have to do something," Anakin said urgently.

"I suggest a distraction."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Have you ever spoken to this General Grievous?" Thrawn said, trying to pronounce the name so foreign to his tongue.

"More times than I would like," Anakin scratched his head. "Never in person."

"And what is his opinion of you?"

"Maybe a little higher than Obi-Wan?"

"And what does he think of your master?"

Anakin looked at him sheepishly.

"He hates him."

"I see," Thrawn said. "Then you should have no trouble diverting his attention away from the space station."

"Wait, are you actually going to call him?" Anakin blurted out. "You'll give away our position."

"Not immediately," the Chiss said.

"Uuuh, okay. If you're sure..."

Thrawn nodded to Captain Xurachi.

The Chiss turned to their equipment and began adjusting dials and flicking switches.

"Pre'vnah plah'vlen, Crahsystor," the Captain relayed. "Metsi'kankou, da ici."

"Ma'resh, yrhanei."

The overlays in front of Thrawn terminated and merged into a single projector, beaming up an image of General Grievous over the bridge.

The cyborg towered over them, a menacing projection of stiff rigid limbs and a mask of durasteel instead of a face. A long cape draped from the metal joints that could be called his shoulders and his eyes, the only organic part of his body, glinted menacingly through the mask.

 _"Skywalker..."_ he growled through his vocabulator. _"I should have known you'd have something to do with this."_

"Grievous," Anakin said, stepping forward. "You're late to party. The Commander here already destroyed your droid factory."

_"That's impossible. We received a signal directly from the factory."_

"No, you received a signal from one of the droids we took directly from the factory before destroying it." Anakin folded his arms.

_"I won't be tricked by your Jedi lies, Skywalker. My droids will search every inch of this backwater planet until the missing droid factory is found."_

"I can't let you do that."

Grievous let out an unsettling chuckle that turned into a throaty, synthetic cough.

"This is a peaceful Republic world," Anakin said. "I won't let you invade and hurt these people."

 _"Is that right?"_ Grievous growled. _"You and what army?"_ He laughed again, a loud and metallic echo, sharp and shredding in their ear drums. _"I don't see any Republic ships, Skywalker."_

Anakin smiled.

"I made some new friends, recently," the Jedi nodded. "Have you met Commander Thrawn by any chance?"

_"Who?"_

The Chiss stepped into the holorecording.

"I am Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force," he said calmly. "You are surrounded. You may surrender or flee."

 _"Ho-ho. Your friend is bold,"_ Grievous chuckled. _"But it looks like someone has already beaten him black and blue."_

"He's tougher than he looks," Anakin said. "And he's right about having you surrounded. You might wanna give up before you embarrass yourself."

 _"Ha!"_ Grievous scoffed. _"You're a bad liar, Skywalker. I know you're broadcasting from the space station."_

"Are we?" Anakin grinned at the Commander.

"Volarai'nah," he spoke to the bridge. "Segei sud terisah'no."

The Chiss immediately began tapping at keypads and flicking through stats.

"Imir'shahs, Crahsystor," Xurachi reported.

"Vah'leh," the Commander gave a nod.

Grievous cackled from the other side of the communication and then a very loud crack emanated from the holoterminal.

 _ **"What is that?!"**_ he roared.

 _"It seems to be an IG-100, sir,"_ replied a synthesized voice from the other side. _"Looks like it's been deactivated."_

 _"I know what it looks like, you idiot."_ Grievous grabbed a droid by its skinny neck joint. _"Get it off my view wall!"_ He lobbed the droid out of the holo.

Anakin grinned at Thrawn who exchanged a quick glance in his direction. The magnaguard was indeed disabled and dipped in Batrillium which lost many of its stealthing properties when improperly applied. Fortunately, it also made for an incredibly effective adhesive. Grievous would be scraping the Magnaguard off his windshield with a thermal cutter.

"Surrender or flee," Thrawn said again.

 _"You best teach your new friend the art of war, Skywalker,"_ Grievous growled. _"Or maybe I'll do it for you."_

He turned to another droid and pointed out the view wall.

 _"Open fire on the space station,"_ the cyborg commanded.

Anakin bristled and turned to look at Thrawn but the Chiss merely lifted his head to look through the hologram.

"Bahla mipfisau lae'ra sa'pfsare," he said calmly.

"Ma'resh, Crahsystor," the bridge echoed in unison.

The holo of Grievous shrunk in favour of a large overlay revealing the Providence-class dreadnought and each of its port turbolasers swinging around to aim at the Lysatran space station.

"Inah," Thrawn commanded from the bridge.

An auxilliary audio feed opened up.

_"Ma'resh, Crahsystor."_

"Who was that?" Anakin whispered to him but Thrawn did not reply.

He watched the feed as each turbolaser ignited, calibrating for its first shot. And then a silvery blur swooped past the line of canons, releasing a tiny ball in front of each one before they went off. Turbolaser fire detonated each bomb in sequence. Explosions bloomed by the side of the Separatist dreadnought, destroying each turret before it could fire again or raise its shields. A blurry mirage escaped the fallout and disappeared into the darkness of space, undetected.

The roar of a distant explosion rumbled through the holocom and Commander Thrawn minimized the projection in favour of Grievious's vehement image raging over the readings.

_**"What was that?!"**_

_"We've lost port-side turbolaser turrets, sir. Rows six and seven."_

_**"MRAAAAGH!"**_ the cyborg roared and tossed another droid aside. _"Order the battlecruisers to open fire on the space station. I want it destroyed, along with Skywalker and his alien pet."_

_"Sir! We can't reach the cruisers!"_

_**"WHAT?!"** _

_"Their communications are being jammed."_

_"Contact the Frigates."_

_"No signal, sir."_

_"Rrrrrrgh,"_ Grievous growled.

"I repeat," Thrawn said calmly. "You are surrounded. Surrender or flee."

Anakin moved in close to the projector and held up a hand over his mouth.

"Might wanna do as he says, Grievous," he suggested smuggly.

 _"Launch all vulture droids!"_ the cyborg shouted and the holo abruptly cut out.

"Well, so much for drawing their attention," Anakin sighed.

"You did well," Thrawn said.

Anakin shook his head.

"They're going to destroy the space station," he said worriedly. "We need to stop them. Order your men to intercept the vulture droids."

Thrawn glanced out the view wall.

"Not yet."

"Thrawn, this is no time for games. There are lives on the line."

"Yes. You wish to gamble with the lives of my warriors," the Chiss said sternly. "I will not send them to their deaths."

"The people on that station need our help."

"And they shall receive it." Thrawn nodded.

Anakin turned to look out the view wall as a horde of tri-pronged starfighters emerged from the bottom of Grievous's dreadnought like a cloud of insects.

"Megei sab'saru kital," the Commander ordered. "Or'ujyeh dai fanu pfila'miai."

The Springhawk glided forward gently, nearing the space station as hundreds of vulture droids did the same. They flew in hard and fast, ejecting blaster cannons on approach, ready to fire upon the exposed hull of the civilian target.

"Thrawn…" Anakin worried.

"Patience," he said as the Springhawk waited in shadow.

The Chiss were all occupied with maps and reading and charts and scans and soon a moving diagram of the droid swarm appeared as a holoprojection in front of the Commander. The dots were blue at first, and one by one they turned red as the Springhawk locked on.

"Imir'shahs, Crahsystor," Fuoror reported when the last of the dots turned red.

"Ma'resh. Vah'leh sinae."

The floor of the Springhawk rumbled beneath their feet as quad charric cannons unfurled and powered on. Four long barrels extended out and tilted up or down. The bridge went silent as the Chiss down in Weapons fired the cannons and bright blue light erupted from the Springhawk's bow.

Anakin shielded his eyes as the light concentrated into a fan shape right in front of the vulture droids rushing in to bombard the space station. Their programming predicted collision but evasive manouvres were fruitless at close range and the droids were vaporized before their eyes.

The swarm became a cluster and then a group.

Thrawn spun his finger, gesturing to the Captain and the ship turned 90 degrees hard starboard, swatting the remaining vultures droids like flies.

The rumbling ceased as the cannons powered down and the light vanished, revealing the Springhawk as the harbinger of the Separatist Fleet's woes.

Thrawn opened up the com channel again.

"This is Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force. Surrender or flee."

In reply, the battlecruisers launched a hundred vulture droids each and primed their turbolasers.

"I think it's time for evasive manoeuvres, Commander," Anakin said smuggly.

"Agreed."

Thrawn barked something in Cheunh and the bridge erupted into frenzied typing and tapping and strapping in.

"Hold this," he said, pointing to the rail.

"Why?" Anakin asked suspiciously, clamping his mechanical hand onto it. The floor beneath his feet unfolded and tiny plates rose up over his boots to trap them in place.

A mechanical platform similarly unfolded beneath the Commander's feet and armoured his legs and back. The Springhawk took off and dodged the incoming turbolaser fire at breakneck speed and Anakin had to use the Force stay upright despite the railing's support.

The droid fighters chased them away from the space station, forming a swarm twice larger than the one destroyed. It followed the Springhawk with a blistering array of blasterfire, bright red bolts hammering at their rear shields. The Frigates and Cruisers joined in, firing turbolasers at the Chiss vessel whenever it got close. Beams of light crisscrossed the black velvet of empty space and hundreds upon hundreds of shiny steel droids shimmered through the battlefield.

The Chiss seemed to be working in tandem to pilot the battlecruiser, each attending to their own section of the ship as part of the whole. The Commander studied the migratory patterns of the droid fighter swarms, the many blue dots flashed and flickered into red.

Thrawn grabbed the railing with his second hand which was quickly engulfed in tiny silver plates.

"Vurana iba'sach naxulai," he commanded and several Chiss called back in reply.

The Springhawk flew straight at the closest Frigate and accelerated. All power diverted to the sub-light engines and Anakin felt a tinge of panic in his heart as he watched the Separatist ship quickly grow before his eyes.

It wasn't until he could clearly see the inside of a Separatist hangar that Captain Xurachi called out over the bridge and Thrawn ordered the Springhawk into a vertical ascent so steep Anakin felt like he was lying down in the railing armour. The Chiss battlecruiser shot up, followed by less than half the droid starfighters. The others collided with the side of the Separatist Frigate. The number of droids slamming into the hangar was enough to break through the energy field and destroy the ships parked inside.

Anakin watched the red dots evaporate from the holo and pieces of the Separatist Frigate began breaking off. Soon, the entire ship was down but the Springhawk kept moving.

The droids kept following.

Up and up and up they went. And then the swarm began to break apart.

"What's going on?" Anakin asked as the starfighters slowed their course.

"We've reached the limit of their signal range," Fuoror explained.

"Xon'tau vasae liyei," Thrawn commanded.

The Springhawk stopped accelerating and drifted up into space as the last of the swarm swerved off target and returned to the ships they came from. Thrawn brought up the scanner readings coming in from every analyst on and around the ship. Endless Cheunh characters scrolled through the holo, culminating in a single figure Anakin thought looked a lot like a number.

"Tertsakou visvia, Crahsystor," the Captain confirmed.

"Mmm," Thrawn pondered.

"The droids might be heading back," Anakin said. "But the long-range cannons on that dreadnought will have no problem shooting us all the way up here."

The Commander nodded.

"Once they fix their guidance system."

"What?"

"Pilots Failo'nar'tari and Vuosh'eran'pfia are creating a diversion as we speak."

"How long do we have?" Anakin said quizzically.

"Five of your standard minutes."

"What about your starfighters?"

"Seven in the field."

"Only Seven?!"

"I have one more," he said.

"Oh, great. That's really gonna turn the tide."

"I believe it will," the Commander agreed. "H'sottor." He nodded to Fuoror.

"Ma'resh," the Lieutenant saluted and unstrapped himself.

"Him?" Anakin smirked.

"You."

"Me?"

"You are a skilled pilot, yes?"

"Well, yeah but…"

"Good. The Lieutenant will be your second."

"My second?"

Fuoror walked over to Anakin and tapped the railing. It instantly released the Jedi's hands and feet, leaving him a little disoriented.

"Come," the Lieutenant said, leading him away.

Anakin turned back to look at Thrawn.

"Are you sure?" he said.

"Yes."

Anakin let Fuoror guide him away from the bridge and down an emergency pole, leading to the Springhawk's hangar. There was a single ship awaiting them. It was a standard Chiss starfighter, freshly painted in Batrillium to disguise the hull. Fuoror jumped up onto the wing and tapped the controls which unclamped the ship. Its dual-seated cockpit split open and the Lieutenant hopped in the front seat, strapping in and booting up the navicomputer.

Anakin grinned to himself and quickly followed. He hopped in the seat above and behind Fuoror's.

"Do you remember the controls?" he asked, continuing to turn dials and flip switches.

"Sure," Anakin said, strapping in. The lights around him turned red as Fuoror made the final checks.

 _"H'sottor,"_ the Commander's voice sounded through the speaker.

"Ma'resh, Crahsystor," Fuoror replied reflexively. "Imir- I mean, we're ready."

_"Good. You have two minutes."_

"Understood."

 _"Anakin,"_ Thrawn said.

"Yes, Commander."

_"I need you to take out the energy shield generator on the capital ship."_

"Oh, sure," Anakin smirked. "No problem." He started up the sub-light engines.

 _"Valuo'rus'pforas chah'batu'nah,"_ Thrawn said and Fuoror dropped what he was doing to salute and repeat.

"What does that mean?" Anakin asked as the starfighter drifted out of the hangar.

"May warrior's fortune smile upon you, General."

"Huh," Anakin smiled. "May the Force be with you, Lieutenant."

The starfighter emerged into the darkness of space and the Springhawk rocketed away. The ship glimmered and shone against the heavy barrage of turbolaser fire coming up from the Frigates and Cruisers, absorbing light like a glistening shadow. It was far smaller than the Separatist battlecruisers but what it lacked in size, it made up for with speed and manoeuvrability as demonstrated by the ease with which Thrawn pulled another horde of droid fighters away from it.

Grievous's capital ship was turning to face the space station with its starboard canons when it received a rather nasty surprise in the form of an EMP from a tiny shadow. A small ball of blue light erupted near the bow and suddenly the canons were frozen in place, firing in awkward angles at past droid fighters.

Anakin took control of the Chiss starfighter and sped forward as the pilots had shown him in simulation. For all their posturing, they were just as curious to learn from him as he was to learn from them and the spacecraft moved flawlessly under his control. Fuoror sat below, attention fixed on the radar and scanners, mapping and projecting everything within a kilometre of the starfighter's bow.

"Does Thrawn have you do everything for him?" Anakin asked, gliding past the turbolasers on a Separatist Frigate with relative ease.

"We have lost many men," the Lieutenant said solemnly. "I took up Logistics after our Supply Officer was killed."

"So what do you usually do?" Anakin said, spinning through a cloud of shattered droid parts to drift through unscathed.

"I am the Senior Navigation Officer and Strategy Consultant aboard the Springhawk."

"Navigation?" Anakin smirked. "Don't you have computers for that?"

"Computers can only relay facts," Fuoror said. "They cannot conceptualise solutions such as this."

"What?"

"Fire along vector 3-4-3."

"I can't see through there."

"I can. Do it."

Anakin let the Force guide his hand and sure enough, it lined him up with Vector 3-4-3 to fire through a damaged communications dish. The shot travelled through the unshielded durasteel and speared six oncoming droid fighters that collided in succession.

"Enemies ahead. Lassau formation."

"What?"

Anakin quickly sensed the incoming danger and spotted more fighters coming up ahead.

"Yeah, that's called a V formation."

"For its resemblance with the letter?" Fuoror wondered.

"Yeah, it looks like a Vev," Anakin said, diving under the incoming fighters. He spun around and fired up at the unsuspecting droids, shattering their hulls and releasing a swathe of buzz droids.

"Uh oh," he said quietly as several latched on to the Chiss starfighter.

"What are they?" Fuoror worried. "They're messing up the scans."

"Buzz droids," Anakin said. "They're going to drill into the ship."

The buzz droids grabbed on to the pfalmean with tiny durasteel claws and ejected a drill from their underside. Metal collided with metal and Anakin could feel the uncomfortable buzzing sound coming in from all direction.

"Mmmm," the Lieutenant pondered for a moment. "Let's see…"

He turned a dial all the way up to its maximum settings and the hull of the starfighter was covered with burning hot clouds of steam. Anakin quickly looked into the map and rattled the Force into helping him steer blind. But soon the white clouds faded and the buzz droids were nowhere to be seen.

"What did you do?"

"I used the standard ice removal gear to melt the buzz droids feet and push them off the hull."

"Ice removal?"

"It's quite cold where we come from. Enemies port and starboard." Fuoror said and Anakin flew the ship into a sweeping arc, travelling up and over the nearest Separatist Frigate.

They dove into the trenches and Anakin grew tense as he tried to navigate the treacherous landscape. The Chiss starship was swift and responsive but rather oddly shaped and he kept forgetting that it wasn't his Delta 7B custom fit interceptor. Not only was the ship taller and thinner but instead of an astromech at his back, there was a Chiss at his feet that seemed to be having a quick chat with Commander Thrawn on the other line.

"Uh, Lieutenant? Little help here."

"Ma'resh, Crahsystor," the Chiss yessired. "Ah, yes. Approaching third artillery battery in twenty seconds. Follow the arc you see on screen."

Anakin blinked as two bright blue lines appeared on the cockpit window, guiding his starfighter up out of the trenches. The Jedi followed, sensing the same path through the Force and confidently steered them out in front of a turbolaser right before it fired.

The vulture droids were hit by the cannon's full blast while the Chiss starfighter sped off and away from the Frigate. Anakin spotted the Springhawk coming at them, its cannons unfolded and pointed straight down. It passed over them and Fuoror minimized the danger warning that popped up to display the incoming charric fire behind them, melting the Frigate out of commission.

"We're doing well," Fuoror nodded appreciatively and returned to his numbers.

"Is he actually trying to win this?"

"The Commander will accept no less than total victory," Fuoror said calmly. "The capital ship is straight ahead."

Anakin could see the overlays guiding him forward and focused on the dreadnought which had finally turned around to fire at the space station with all of its remaining starboard-side cannons. Unfortunately, they were still jammed in the same position and several vulture droids were desperately trying to repair the damage caused by an errant Chiss starfighter.

The Jedi quickly set course for the cluster of droids. Fuoror marked them all down in the targeting system and Anakin fired the charric cannons, destroying each vulture droid with a well-aimed blast of blue energy.

"Yeah," he laughed as he spun the starfighter, narrowly making it through the gap between two com towers.

"Please don't take unnecessary risks," Fuoror said quietly. "We have a mission to complete."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Destroy the energy shield generator." Anakin waved out of the cockpit as the Chiss starfighter surfed past the bridge where Grievous was fuming.

"Commander, what's our status?" the Lieutenant said hurriedly.

 _"Low on power. Cruisers down. Frigates-"_ the com cut out.

"Commander?"

"We need to hurry," Anakin said, steering across the top of the dreadnought. "The energy shield generator will be in the back between the port and starboard arrays."

"Understood." The Lieutenant quickly began scanning the massive capital ship for energy signatures. The readings revealed a contour map and Fuoror quickly pinpointed the small nub sticking out of its aft ventral section to be the source.

"I believe I've located the energy shield generator."

"Show me," Anakin said, pushing the starfighter over the edge where port-side cannons had been disabled.

Several different warning overlays in Cheunh popped up around his head as a massive energy signature swept through space.

"What was that?" Anakin said, holding the fighter steady.

"I believe Commander Thrawn has jettisoned the Springhawk's back up fuel supply into the remaining battlecruisers," the Lieutenant said quickly.

"Did they make it out?"

Fuoror's fingers danced over keys and overlays, flipping switches and turning dials like a madman.

"Crahsystor," he tried to pull a signal out of the jamming fields.

_"H'sottor. Dai csiveh!"_

"Hak'kah!" the Lieutenant replied loudly and continued assaulting the equipment.

Anakin found many more overlays opening up and closing in front of him. Two blue lines showed him the starfighter's trajectory. Green waves indicated radiation and energy spikes. Yellow triangles appeared in warning of collision with debris and bright red circles surrounded enemy fighters and cannons.

The Jedi fired on every target that crossed his path, dodging blazing beams from turbolasers after the accompanying warning overlays. Anakin found rhythm in the Force and fused his body to the pilot's chair. The control sticks in his hands became an extension of himself and the single starfighter annihilated what remained of the dreadnought's port side.

"Coming up on the energy shield generator now," Fuoror reported. "Twenty droid fighters moving to intercept."

"Can we get around them?"

"No."

"Are we going to anyway?"

"If you follow the route I've programmed to the millisecond."

"Alright," Anakin nodded, "hit me."

"Is that a figure of speech?"

"Just put it on screen."

"Done. Begin sequence in five, four, three, two, one. Engage."

Anakin followed the glowing blue lines into the hornet's nest. Droid fighters appeared like a wall flying at him.

"Fire into centre third," Fuoror said and Anakin quickly despatched several shots of charric fire.

The wall of fighters broke up into a tightly packed swarm that fired back, covering the cockpit in bright red glare as each bolt glanced off the shields or narrowly missed them. Anakin felt the Force spurring him forward, urgent and powerful, visualised by the glowing blue lines on the screen. He followed them and banked left, spinning and shooting simultaneously to confuse the droids' targeting systems. One went down and exploded upon contact with another, creating an opening for the slim but tall Chiss fighter to slip through the blockade.

But now the vulture droids were on his tail, firing rapidly and Fuoror quickly diverted power from forward to aft shields to catch some of the flak. Anakin stared straight down those glowing blue lines, his eyes caught on the tiny energy shield generator at the end of them. It grew bigger and bigger as they approached but their speed was dampened by the constant need to swerve out of harm's way.

"Stay on course," Fuoror said suddenly and his seat lowered down beneath the cockpit. It swivelled and disappeared beneath Anakin's feet as the Lieutenant manned the rear cannons.

Several warning overlays disappeared as Fuoror began culling the swarm and Anakin focused his attention forward. The guidance system showed him where to go and soon the targeting system engaged and the Jedi released the safety on his gear stick. He closed his eyes and the Force guided his hand. He squeezed the trigger and the Chiss starfighter fired a torpedo straight into the generator, destroying the shields, the casing and a bright light bloomed just as Anakin and Fuoror flew over the top.

He threw the gear sticks forward and diverted power to the sublight engines which rocketed them up and away from the explosion. Out into space where the fighter sped up over the battlefield. The Lysatran space station had remained surprisingly intact. Unlike the Gozanti cruisers and Munificient Frigates that now surrounded it in pieces.

The Springhawk hovered between the station and the dreadnought, cannons pointed directly at the Providence's bridge. Seven starfighters were arranged neatly beside it. The Batryllium had been worn away by battle and the silver ships glistened between dark stripes of war paint in the reflected light.

Anakin swung their ship around and glided in beside the three other fighters on Thrawn's right, completing the set and grinned.

"Can you open the com channel?"

"Yes." Fuoror flicked a switch, returning to his previous position.

_"This is Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force," Thrawn said with the same even tone. "And I am no longer accepting your surrender."_


	16. Chapter 16

The Separatist dreadnought turned tail and jumped into hyperspace, vanishing as quickly as it had come. Nine silver starships were left in its wake, powering down and out of commission.

The cantina was silent. 

Every alien and Lysatran was paralyzed with fear. Seemingly moments ago, General Grievous had descended upon them with every intent to seize control of the space station and subsequently the planet, subjugating every sentient to the rule of Confederate law. With the turbolifts and hangars locked down, all they could do was watch as a mysterious silver ship engaged the Separatist Fleet. And won.

The shock began to wear off once the dreadnought disappeared, leaving behind the wreckage of three large frigates and four big cruisers. The empty space between them became an asteroid field of debris comprised of disabled starfighters, bombers and buzz droids. 

Jury sighed and turned back to the rebels he was holding at gunpoint.

"Now, where were we?" he said, regaining his composure.

"I was about to kick you in the teeth," Ahsoka hissed, struggling against the stasis field in which she was trapped.

"Oh, I remember." Jury grinned. "You were gonna tell me where the rest of your stupid lil' friends went."

"Go to hell," Vanto sneered, hands behind his head.

"I'll see you down there, Vanto." Jury cracked the pistol over his cranium. "Bring the family." He chuckled.

"Fancculo strazza," Vanto spat, writhing on the ground. "Don't tell this kark head anything, Ahsoka!"

Jury slammed a big boot down on his face and Vanto grunted as blood spurted out from his mouth and nose.

"Who knew one lil' Jedi could be this much trouble?" Jury said, pointing his gun at all the rebels tied up beside him. "I'd expect it of Skywalker maybe. But you?"

"You'd be dead if my master was here," Ahsoka said venemously.

"Oh, I believe that." Jury nodded. "Too bad he had to go and die in a rockslide." 

"He's not dead!"

"Uhuh… and I'm not holding Jebadai Matteo Vanto at gunpoint." Jury grinned. "You love it when I use your full name, don't you?"

Jeb struggled against the boot on his face, hands stuck in binders.

"Now, why don't you just tell me where your friends are and we can end this like civil folk."

"Ain't nothing civil 'bout you, porg-sucker," Vanto groaned and Jury's boot slammed into his mouth. 

"How many times do I have to hit you?" he wondered as Jeb spit out a chipped tooth.

"Jeb, don't!" Ahsoka shouted. "It's not worth it."

"Finally, you understand. Now, let's have a nice, peaceful chat, Miss Jedi. No one else needs to get hurt."

Jury's interrogation was interrupted by several Vexessylan slavers who hissed in protest.

"Look, you had your chance to kill her and now you're short an army of bodyguards. How about we do this my way before you add yourselves to the body count?"

The aliens debated amongst themselves but reluctantly agreed. The six Seeshus of the Harrowed Hand sat around a sabacc table in comfortable leather chairs brought in specifically for them to sit on. A large collection of slaves milled about, attending to their every whim while vicious-looking bodyguards pointed rifles at the captured rebels. 

"Now," Jury turned back to Ahsoka. "I'm gonna ask you again. Where're the rest of your friends?"

"I don't know," she said. "We split up when we ran into the Spa-Sec station."

"You expect me to believe that you had no contact with them whatsoever?" Jury raised an eyebrow. 

"If only there was some magical way to communicate over long distances," he said, pulling a comlink out of his pocket.

"I believe you people call it the Force?" He grinned. 

Ahsoka grit her teeth.

"Let's find out who was the last person Vanto called..." He tapped a button.

The muffled chirping of a communicator filled the room and Jury stepped off Vanto's face to search for it.

The rebels were cuffed and bound with whatever Spa-Sec could find. Lyza, Cassa and Marco were gagged as well, resentfully struggling against the restraints as Jury strode past. Fifteen Spa-Sec officers held them at gunpoint, scuffed and tired but very much engaged in their duties. The comlink continued chirping and Jury sniffed it out. He stopped beside Lyza and looked down with a satisfied smirk.

"Hiding something, are we?" He gestured to an officer to remove the gag and Lyza spat in his face.

"Hwell..." Jury wiped the gunk off with a gloved hand. "Looks like your big mouth has gotten you into trouble again, Ms Bianchi."

"Shove your honeyed words up your backside, Jury," she struggled as he pickpocketed the comlink.

"Now, now. I know you bite. So how 'bout you tell me where the rebels went and I tell my clients here that you and your family'd make terrible slaves?"

"I'd rather die."

"That can also be arranged," Jury pointed a blaster in her face but saved the shot. "Gag her."

The Spa-Sec officer behind her did so and Jury raised the comlink to his face. He tapped the key and waited for someone to pick up.

"L-Lyza? Is that you?" Cortes whispered, barely audible through the whirr of working servers. 

Jury gave them all a satisfied smile.

"This is Talbo Jury, Mr Cortes," he said. "I must remind you that the use of communications equipment in the server room is strictly prohibited."

"Blast. He's onto us boys!" The com cut out.

"Head down to store room 4822," Jury nodded at one of his officers. "Take all the boys you find on your way there. Bring 'em back here where I can keep an eyes on 'em."

"Yes, sir." He moved away.

Jury put his hands on his hips and sighed.

"Well, that wasn't so hard, now, was it?"

"You won't get away with this," Ahsoka said. 

"Darlin', you've said that to me six times already and now you're stuck in a stasis field right where I want ya. How clear do I have to make the message?"

He strolled over casually, giving Vanto a good kick as he went.

"Now, I made a deal with these here nice folk." He pointed to the Vexessylans in the VIP section. "And they're gonna take you off my hands. Say you'll do great in the fighting pits on Tuyoota 9. And I truly believe that if you work reeeal hard, you might even make Champion of that Pit someday."

"You gotta open up this stasis field to move me," Ahsoka grinned. "And something tells me you're a little too chicken to do it."

"You're right. We'll disable it once we bring the crate up here," Jury said. "Can't transport an animal without the right cage."

Ahsoka grimaced as he smiled that sickly sweet smile and turned to stroll back toward the slavers' table. The rest of the cantina was busy minding its own business and only a few people noticed the silver starfighters beyond the view wall returning to the battlecruiser.

It gave off no readings, it showed almost no life signs and against the darkness of space, it was practically invisible. Ahsoka watched it out of the corner of her eye for she could not turn her head and with a sigh, she whispered, _"please."_

Just then, the space station rumbled and a distant siren went off. Jury quickly got to his feet and pulled out his datapad.

"Blasted rebels..." he muttered as a starship flew past the view wall at ever increasing speed. It was a small freighter. Or a transport. Painted with the logo of the Mining Guild. The ship was lugging a large shipment of something that was slowing it down but that didn't stop it from jumping to hyperspace as soon as it was out of range.

Jury sniffed and tapped the comlink in his ear. 

"Ferrera, care to explain what the hell just happened?"

"Uh-huh..."

"Uh-huh..."

"Nevil Cygni?"

"Well how in Typhos' name did he get out of the hangar and undo the clamps? What is he? A Jedi?"

"Nah, ahm askin' you."

"Alright, seal the hangar and sit tight. Lockdown will be over soon."

Jury walked back over to the slavers' table and sat down on his comparatively plain bar stool.

"Have your men finished loading up the cargo?"

"Almossst," Fyszzix hissed. "The fee has been transssferred to your account."

"Much obliged," Jury said, returning to his drink. 

Ahsoka scanned the room for something she could do, something she could see or use to help the rebels break free and take over the cantina. Her gaze fell upon the blaster on Jury's hip.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the Force. 

The Chief of Spaceport Security decided to entertain his guests with a game of sabacc and his hands were soon busy with glowing holo-cards and coins of every shape and size. Ahsoka used the Force to gently pull the firearm out of its holster and under the tumult of busy slaves serving drinks back and forth, the pistol made its very inconspicuous way through the crowd and landed under Marco's knees.

He quickly shifted and sat on the pistol, pretending to move out of the way of a passing slave woman rushing to bring refreshments to her masters. And the Spa-Sec officers seemed none the wiser. Marco nodded slowly to Ahsoka and she winked back.

They needed some way to unlock the binders trapping their wrists so Ahsoka began searching for a solution. The lightsaber in her hand would do the trick. If only it wasn't trapped behind a stasis field. A key would work. Though she would have to lift several different ones and distribute them among the rebels somehow. If only she had a droid popper…

One of the men at a table nearby reached into his jacket and pulled out an energy lighter. He burned the end of his long twisted cigar before tossing it onto the table and resuming his alcohol consumption.

Ahsoka saw an opportunity and quickly stirred the Force into moving the lighter. So desperate was the effort that it fell off the side and threatened to loudly hit the floor before she caught it again. The young Jedi closed her eyes and slowly moved the lighter across the floor toward a certain group of rebels. It lightly tapped against Lyza's hand and she wrapped her fingers around it quickly.

"Look who we caught!" Ferrera called out, shoving Cortes and his buddies into the cantina.

Jury turned to look at them.

"Well, finally," he said. "Did it take all of Spa-Sec or just the ones up top?"

"You said to take all the boys, sir," Barone shrugged. "We cleaned out the server room and we found these small town mooks tryin'a steal this." He handed Jury a datacard.

"Is that so?" the Chief glanced over at Vanto's beat-down body.

He inserted the card into his datapad and casually walked over to rest his boot on the spacer's back.

"Looks like they were trying to steal a manifest for all the little boys sold to the Harrowed Hand this week," Jury said.

"But guess what, Vanto?" He leaned down and showed him the database query results. "Eli's not on the list."

Jeb raised his head off the ground, struggling to see through a swollen eye and stared at the datapad, trying to focus on the screen.

"No…" he said. "You're lying."

"Hahaha," Jury laughed dryly. "You're a stubborn one, Jeb, I'll give you that."

He got back up.

"You keep on hopin' when there ain't no hope to be had."

"There's always hope!" Ahsoka shouted across the way.

"Oh, not you too. When is it going to get through your thick Jedi skull? You've lost."

The cantina went silent as Jury pulled the disk out of his datapad and snapped it in half.

"What're you lookin' at?" he challenged them and one by one the patrons looked away, lest they be tied up and sold off like the rebels Jury had caught.

He sauntered back toward the sabacc table but halfway to it, his comlink went off. Jury breathed in and out deeply and menacingly.

 _"What._ Is it?" he said.

The response set his teeth on edge.

"What do they want?"

"Tell them we're in lockdown."

"Urgh, fine. Put it through on the holo."

 _"Yes,_ in the cantina."

_"Useless morons..."_

He stepped over to the big holoterminal by the view wall and lit up a cigar. He took a drag and blew out the smoke as the holo terminal lit up, obscuring the dark figure on the other line.

"This is Talbo Jury, Chief of Lysatran Spaceport Security. State your name and business," he said without the feigned friendliness.

"I am Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force. I have a business proposition for you and your colleagues."

"Chiss?" Jury smirked. "You pullin' my leg?."

The cloud of smoke cleared around the shadowy figure, revealing a humanoid sentient in dark black armour.

"Is this an idiom?" the stranger said.

"Take off your helmet, then we'll talk, Mister Chiss Commander."

"Very well," he conceded and removed the mask, revealing dark blue skin and hair and bright red eyes. "Is this sufficient?"

Jury's mouth hung open and the cigar toppled forward, stuck between his lips in disbelief. He pulled it out and stared at the Chiss on the other end.

"You're..."

"Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force, as I have said. I have a business proposition I would like to discuss with you and your partners."

"What kinda business proposition?" Jury narrowed his eyes.

"We're in the market for labourers," the Chiss said expressionlessly. "We believe you have a surplus in stock."

Jury grinned widely.

"So the stories are true," he said. "You want Humans?"

"We do not discriminate," the Chiss said. "We will pay handsomely for any and all sentients you have in your possession."

"You wanna buy all of our slaves?" Jury chuckled. "Do you know how much that would cost?"

"I'm sure we could come to some arrangement," the Chiss said. "Our starting offer is six million credits. We are open to negotiation depending on the numbers and quality of your inventory."

"Six million... credits?" Jury raised an uncertain eyebrow.

"We have been told this is your primary form of currency. We also carry cataries, lacyon, routex and commodity goods to trade in exchange."

Jury took a long drag of his cigar.

"I'm gonna need proof of currency before I let you talk to my colleagues," he said.

"Please provide us with your account details and we shall transfer the sum two hundred thousand credits to cover the cost of your services."

"You're speaking my language, Commander," Jury nodded and pulled out his datapad. "Details sent."

The Chiss tapped a few buttons on his end and the transfer pinged through to Jury's datapad. He leered at the numbers on his screen, taking a long drag of his cigar.

"Thank you very much, Commander," he said. "I'll be glad to arrange a meeting for you and the six Seeshus of the Harrowed Hand."

The Chiss nodded.

"When can we expect you?"

"Immediately."

Jury frowned as he looked beyond the holoterminal and out the view wall at the silver battlecruiser facing the spaceport. 

"Permission to dock, Chief Talbo Jury."

"Uuuh, yeah. Yeah, one second." He tapped at his datapad again.

"You're clear to dock in Hangar Bay 67. Transferring co-ordinates. Do you need a tractor beam?"

"No."

The communication cut out and Jury was left standing at an empty holoterminal.

He looked down at his datapad again and grinned as he walked back to the sabacc table.

"Gentlebeings," he said with a most charming smile. "I do believe we're about to be incredibly rich."

The Vexessylans hissed and sputtered about having enough of Jury's bright ideas.

"Listen, I may have just found a buyer for your entire acquisition here on Lysatra."

"You bessst not be lying, Jshury," Fortrexx hissed.

"They just paid for me to mediate the deal." He showed them the remittance for two hundred thousand credits.

One of the Seeshus couldn't help but let his tongue escape his snout and slither back in. They looked to one another with slitted yellow eyes and conveyed something silently as Jury templed his fingers.

"They wish to buy every single slave you have, no matter the size or quality. Their starting bid is six million credits."

Reptilian eyes widened and looked to one another in silent excitement. They debated amongst themselves in strange tongues as Jury patiently waited for their decision.

Ahsoka frowned.

She looked down at Jeb and caught his quizzical expression staring into space. The rebels weren't faring much better. 

Lyza was pale as a sheet, eyes wide and petrified. Marco hugged his legs and Cassa kissed her thumb and forefinger before touching her heart three times. The others slowly repeated the gesture and Ahsoka could feel the fear and despair settling over them.

"Could this get any worse?" she thought to herself angrily. Where was Artoo? And Anakin? Where was the backup she'd requested from Mace Windu? 

As usual, it fell upon the young Padawan to do everything herself.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes and concentrated on the Force, aiming for the guard pointing his rifle at Lyza. He turned away for a moment and Ahsoka slapped the back of his head with a phantom hand.

"Ey!" the guard turned to find his colleague none the wise. "Wotcha do that for?"

"I didn't do anythin'."

"You hit me."

"No, I didn't."

"Actually, it was the guy on your right," Ahsoka pointed out innocently.

"'Cardo?"

"Wha?"

"Why'd you hit me?"

"I didn't hit you."

"She said you did."

"So what?"

"You've been getting all cocky since you won that game of sabacc. Think you take me, huh?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Shut up! All o' ya," Jury shouted from the table.

"Sorry, Chief."

Ahsoka sighed as the keycard she'd stolen from a guard's pocket dropped to the floor beside the stasis field. None of them seemed to notice but Marco nudged Cassa to point it out. Ahsoka winked at them and smiled. Their spirits lifted a little and Lyza passed the lighter around, pretending her own hands were still bound.

"Vanto, you alive?" Cortes mumbled as the rebels were shoved to ground.

Jeb didn't move, his face scrunched up into a pained grimace.

"Jeb?"

"I'm gonna kill him," he said quietly. "I'm gonna kill that son of a Hutt if it's the last thing I do."

"Jeb, Jury didn't sell your son," Cortes whispered. "His name wasn't in any of the databases. It's like he just vanished into thin air."

"You think it was the Chiss?" Riguez said.

"I don't know what to believe anymore." Cortes shook his head. "The slavers, the separatists and now the Chiss?"

"We're finished."

"Don't give up," Ahsoka said to them.

"You keep your trap shut. You're the reason we're in this mess."

"I'm also the reason we're getting out of it," Ahsoka grinned.

"What are you talking about?"

"My master's here," she said. "And I think I know where Artoo went."


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just having fun now :P

Artoo Deetoo was a curious little droid. No bigger than a standard astromech and no brighter than the blue stripe that ran down the side of his cylindrical chassis. Two magnapeds were welded onto each side and one underneath, each attached to a wheel. 

Such droids were a common sight on space stations around the galaxy and Artoo passed several identical units on his way to the Twilight. He found a sly feline alien with brown fur sniffing around the shabby starship as he scooted into the hangar. Artoo's sensors immediately activated and scanned the life form.

"Scan = complete," the readout processed. "Species identified: Cathar, female. Occupation: thief."

Artoo scooted right up to the woman trying to slice the airlock on the Twilight and ejected his electric probe. It sparked and crackled and upon contact with the alien posterior, the Cathar woman let out a painful hiss.

Artoo backed up as she collapsed on the floor unconscious.

Master:Anakin had installed the probe for protection and one of Artoo's primary directives was protecting the Starship:Twilight. But the first and most pressing, of course, was the safety of his padawan, Tano_Ahsoka and he quickly scooted around the intruder to plug into the Twilight's dataport.

A second later, the airlock swung open and Artoo drove in, giving the bent durasteel on the floor a wide birth. Master:Anakin had made many improvements upon the ship but none of them were cosmetic or designed to increase the safety rating. Much like Artoo himself.

He wheeled up to the bridge and plugged into the dataport, connecting to the communications dish on the roof. 

****error****Error****malfunction.ifheow8yfhj****legacy_boot****3yhjfailure****

01100101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110010 00100000   
00110111 00111000 00110011 00111001 00110010 00110001  
01100101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110010 00100000   
00110111 00111000 00110011 00111001 00110010 00110001

Once again, Artoo found himself running diagnostics on the poor old transport, this time probing the coms unit.

****hardware_malfunction****

"WoooooOoooo," Artoo sighed in binary and proceeded to work.

***-fudo dxdiagnostic.bxj.soollh.***

A long list of malfunctioning components opened with varying levels of failure and functionality and Artoo began bypassing each one to see if there was even limited function in its capacity.

Master:Anakin always believed that nothing was unsalvagable. Anything could be fixed as long as you didn't give up and even droids such as Artoo could live long past their manufacturer's warranty provided they received the necessary maintenance and updates.

To this effect, Anakin had never wiped Artoo's memory. He still had recordings of his own assembly at Industrial Automation, booting up for the first time and being loaded onto a starship with several thousand identical R2 units.

There were recordings of a young tech installing astromechs into the Royal Naboo Yacht, interfacing with its systems and his first deployment upon fleeing the planet with Queen:Amidala aboard. There were recordings of his fellow units being destroyed, the successful repair of the ship, the jump to hyperspace and Tatooine. Artoo remembered Tatooine and the little slave boy and his droid.

****Diagnostic=complete****  
****Com_sys_array_func_lvl=45% ****

"Wooo!" Artoo beeped happily. 

He whirled the dataspike around in the port and alligned the dish with open space. It creaked and it groaned but finally did what it was programmed to do and Artoo sent a loud message into the void.

"Emergency Alert on all Republic military frequencies!" he blared out the preprogrammed string. "Tano_Ahsoka.status.inDanger=true!"

The invisible clouds of data communication whizzing through space were upset by this addition rattling through the holosphere. Starships and droids and space stations as far as lightyears away were disturbed by the message which they were programmed to receive with high priority.

_"unit:Tano_Ahsoka=inDanger?"_

_"Tano_Ahsoka.class=Jedi?"_

_"query: Ahsoka,location?.hsh"_

Replies poured in from all over the galaxy.

"Jedi:Padawan:Tano_Ahsoka.status=inDanger; Location=83776.3773.2.345.23; Request: all_available_units," Artoo added to his desperate plea.

_"Artoo-Deetoo?"_ 3PO transmitted. _"What are you doing sending messages on a open military frequency?"_

"!!!!" Artoo replied excitedly. "Shiny_garbage_man_droid!!!!"

_"I've told you this before. My serial number is 667383888555288.2882 but if you insist upon using a string then at least use my model number C3PO-2882."_

"Shiny_garbage_man_droid=functional?"

_"Of course, I'm functional, you oversized rat trap. How else would I be talking to you?"_

"Master:Anakin.status.inDanger=true?"

_"No, he's just returned to Starship:VirHaruDani."_

"Starship:VirHaruDani.crew.species=alien?"

_"Yes. The ship belongs to the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force. CO.name=Commander:Mitthrawnuruodo."_

"Commander:Mitthrawnuruodo=Master:Anakin.friend?"

_"I suppose."_

"If (Commander: Mitthrawnuruodo=Master:Anakin.friend) then {Commander: Mitthrawnuruodo=R2.D2.friend;}"

_"That is a logical assumption."_

"Shiny_garbage_man_droid -> Master:Anakin?"

_"Yes, I'll put you through now."_

_"Artoo? Are you there?"_ Anakin said worriedly.

"Master:Anakin.status=alive!!!"

_"Yeah, I'm alive, Artoo. Did you say Ahsoka's in danger?"_

"Tano_Ahsoka=captured!"

_"By who?"_

"Security_Chief:Jury_Talbo.capture(Lysatran:Rebels:Vanto_Jeb;Bianchi_Lyza:Giachera_Marco;Cortes_Vernando); Tano_Ahsoka.inDanger=true. 100101 111110 001000 010111 010001"

_"Wooah there, buddy,"_ Anakin interrupted. _"You saying Jury's with the slavers and he's kidnapped the Lysatrans that rebelled against him?"_

"1"

_"Where's Ahsoka?"_

"Location: 3478.3332.6335.47736637."

_"What's that? The bridge?"_

"Room_name=cantina."

_"How many men have they got on the station?"_

"Accessing...."

_"Come on, buddy. We need to hurry."_

*****Welcome to the Lysatran Spaceport Security System****

"Output:   
Officers on Active Duty: 6,588.   
Officers on Actice Duty; Location:Space_Station: 427.   
Officers on Active Duty; Location:Space_Station:Cantina: 48."

_"What about the slavers?"_

"Searching..." Artoo communicated. "Found: 6 Harrowed Hand representative(s) on board."

_"Are those the big bosses?"_

"Harrowed_hand_representative.permissions = high_priority;"

_"Are they in the cantina too?"_

"1"

_"Okay, we need to get in there."_

"Harrowed_hand_represtative.crew_number = 2847!"

_"I have a suggestion,"_ a new voice registered in the conversation. _"Why don't we offer to purchase the slaves?"_

_"Slaves are expensive, Thrawn,"_ Anakin explained

_"I believe we have adequate funds,"_ the voice replied. _"H'sottor..."_

_"Nnnn,"_ a third voice registered. _"I suppose..."_

_"Nai csarmu chousen dasé!"_ an angry female voice interrupted and Artoo cooed worriedly.

_"Mi dai sanu, Crahstor..."_ Thrawn said timidly.

_"What's wrong?"_ Anakin asked.

_"The Captain is concerned about my... gunumwei xomakam."_

_"Frivolous spending."_

_"Tell her it could save thousands of lives if it works."_

The aliens argued amongst themselves but finally the Captain relented to her superior officer.

_"Then it's settled."_

_"Artoo, can you get us on the line with Jury?"_

"Spaceport_Security:Chief:Jury_Talbo.frequency.Tranfer();"

_"Thanks, buddy. How's your chassis?"_

"R2-D2.hardware.condition=good."

_"Great. I need you to keep trying to reach Obi-wan, Master Plo and Master Windu, okay?"_ Anakin said. 

"R2-D2.status = ready;"

_"Great, we'll see you soon."_

The com channel closed and Artoo repositioned the Twilight's dish to beam a signal to each Jedi Master respectively but no answer came. He tried and tried, bouncing the signal off different space stations and satellites but Lysatra was simply too far away from the Mid Rim to effectively communicate.

Artoo let out an exasperated scratchy noise. 

His directive was clear. His purpose - high priority. And yet the Jedi Generals continued to ignore him.

The droid let out a forlorn coo as he realised he would not be able to complete his master's request. Not with the Twilight's equipment anyway. 

He unplugged from the dataport and scooted away, off the bridge and out the airlock and across the hangar. If he couldn't use the Twilight's com dish, then he would find a bigger com dish. The Spaceport would have one. He just needed to bypass all of their security to access it.

Artoo rolled up to the hangar's maintenance terminal and plugged into the Spaceport directly. It threw up several warnings and complaints and firewalls but it was nothing the little droid hadn't seen before. He expertly sliced his way through the security and into the mainframe, assuming control of the hardware operated by the communication module.

Artoo spun the dataspike around, rotating the com dish on the space station to contact his Master's Master, Obi-wan Kenobi. The signal was strong and clear and received a response with seconds.

_"Artoo, is that you?"_

"Master:master:Kenobi_Obi-wan!!!"

_"Are you the one filling up our frequencies with indecipherable messages?"_

"Master:Anakin.Instruct(R2-D2.contact(Master:master:Kenobi_Obi-wan));"

_"Anakin **told** you to do this?"_

"1"

Obi-wan let out a defeated sigh.

_"We're on already our way, Artoo. General Grievous fled the battle halfway through and we weren't able to trace the hyperspace route he used to escape."_

"Separatist:General:Grievous.Attack(Lysatra);"

_"What?"_

"Starship:VirHaruDani.Engage(Separatist:General:Grievous.dreadnought);"

_"I'm not sure I understand,"_ Obi-wan said pensively.

"Master:Anakin&Commander:Mitthrawnuruodo.Defeat(Separatists);"

_"What? What is a Mithrawnudo? Artoo, you're not making any sense."_

"Tano_Ahsoka.inDanger=true! Master:Anakin.Request(Assistance); Harrowed_hand.representative & Jury_Talbo.Kidnap(Lysatra.citizens); Vanto_Eli.location = unknown;"

Obi-wan sighed. 

_"Alright, we're on our way,"_ he said. _"Find Anakin and keep a close eye on him. I'll contact you once we arrive."_

"Master:master:Kenobi_Obi-Wan.speed++!"

The communication ended and Artoo tried contacting Threepio again to ascertain the location of Master:Anakin but the line was busy. The feisty astromech grumbled in a series of unintelligible beeps and tried again but the shiny garbage man droid would not pick up. So Artoo sliced into the Space Station's security and went searching for a lead.

The cantina seemed like a promising start and a quick change of the channel opened up a live communication between Talbo Jury and the Starship:VirHaruDani. 

_"When can we expect you?"_ Jury's voice crackled through the static.

_"Immediately,"_ a stern stranger replied. _"Permission to dock, Chief Talbo Jury."_

_"Uuuh, yeah. Yeah, one second,"_ Jury's voice replied nervously.

_"You're clear to dock in Hangar Bay 67. Transferring coordinates. Do you need a tractor beam?"_

_"No."_

The com ended and Artoo quickly checked the despatch orders to find the Starship:VirHaruDani was on its way to Hangar 67 and logically, so was Master:Anakin and the shiny garbage man droid. A quick access of the Space Station schematics and Artoo had the location of the hangar.

"Wooo!" he beeped cheerfully and retracted his dataspike from the dataport.

He reversed away from the wall and spun on his wheels to find the unconscious Cathar coming to. Artoo scooted back up to the starship and gave her another quick poke with his electric probe.

"WoooOOoooo. Bip boop," he apologised, wheeling his way down the ramp.

He crossed the hangar and casually drove out into the crowded corridors of the Space Station. 

The rebels Lyza had roused on the ground were rounded up and shoved into a single working turbolift, only to be greeted by menacing reptilian slavers with whips and vibroswords once they reached the Station. Hundreds of sentients, locked together with chains were pushed and pulled toward transports and cages, taking up several lanes of traffic. 

Artoo scooted through unmolested as the crack of vibrowhips came down. Humans cried out in pain and staggered forward but the lines kept moving, kept shuffling up. 

"wooOooooo, wooo..." Artoo cooed sadly as he drove away. 

Master:Anakin would fix this. He could fix anything. And Artoo would help. He just had to find him.

He skated past some menacing guards and sketchy Spa-Sec officers rushing toward Hangar 67 and hid under a workbench as they approached. The officers unlocked the hangar, murmuring to each other in hushed tones.

"You think they're really Chiss?"

"I hope not. My grandfather used to say they could kill ya just by lookin' atcha."

"Oh, Typhos..."

Artoo followed a row of astromechs into the hangar and watched as the Spa-Sec officers reluctantly moved in, followed by the slaver mercenaries who seemed to be far less intimidated. They gathered inside the safety zone and watched as a silver battle cruiser glided into the hangar like a predator, slow and steady, without so much as a tractor beam to aid it.

The ship glistened under station lamps, stripes of black liquid obscuring its form. Two large wings spread out to the sides and the hull unfolded into eight shining silver legs. The ship hovered gently and turned to face them before touching down on the permacrete floor.

The sublight engines switched off and the ship fell silent, sucking all noise out of the hangar.

Suddenly, the hull split open and released a ramp. Eight soldiers in lacquered black laminate marched down it almost immediately, followed by a single man in uniform. Artoo scanned the strangers but his databanks did not contain any information on the species so he began to note down his own.

new Species Chiss;  
Chiss.body_type= humanoid;  
Chiss.height_average=188.796cm;  
Chiss.characteristics= blue skin; glowing red eyes; excellent posture;

The man in uniform parted the soldiers who flanked him with perfect symmetry except one.

"A-are you-" one of the Lysatrans mumbled.

"Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo," the Chiss sternly, eyes bright, head high. "You are representatives of Chief Talbo Jury?"

The Spa-Sec officers looked to one another and the bravest of them said, "Y-yes."

"You will escort us to him."

"Yes, sir," they responded to the command. The mercenaries nodded sourly and gestured with rifles as the Chiss marched forward in time and out of the hangar. Artoo watched them go and then silently split from the astromechs to drift off and up the ramp of the Starship:VirHaruDani.

The curious little droid drove right up to the airlock and knocked on the sealed door.

"Master:Anakin!!!" he beebooped in binary. "Shiny_garbage_man_droid!"

The door opened and two more soldiers in black laminate appeared to inspect the newcomer.

"Cheisa?" one of them said, pointing his rifle at the droid.

"Nai taru." The other shrugged.

"Model_number=R2-D2.238;" Artoo introduced himself. "Serial_number=577-3739-2009;"

The two warriors looked to one another, conveying something through the faceless black masks.

"Master:Anakin.location=here?"

One of the soldiers reached out a hand curiously and touched the droid's chassis, feeling the smooth surface under his gloved fingers.

"Artoo-Deetoo, there you are," Threepio scolded from a distance as he approached on leg-locked limbs. "I was wondering what trouble you'd gotten into."

"Shiny_garbage_man_droid!"

"Honestly, you make me regret all that processing power I wasted on computing the odds of your survival."

"R2-D2.survivability_rating=100%"

"That's not the point."

"Cheisa tum'sei nakonei?" one of the Chiss interrupted.

"Na'chah Artoo-Deetoo, meccana'rus'Vran'csiuttor," Threepio explained.

"Mmm," the guards murmured suspiciously.

"Master:Anakin.location.assign();?" Artoo asked hopefully.

"Master:Anakin just left, I'm afraid."

"?!"

"Cheisa dou'saru?" the stern voice of Commander Thrawn travelled down the long corridor.

The Chiss formed up to back-breaking attention and saluted with a fist to the chest.

"Meccana seishou moul'ratu," one of them said.

"Ah, Commander," Threepio chittered. "May I introduce, Artoo-Deetoo? Please excuse his rudeness. Master Anakin never installed any etiquette subroutines."

"This belongs to General Skywalker?" Thrawn looked down at the droid curiously.

"Indeed. He was ordered to contact the Jedi Generals for reinforcements." Threepio added judgementally.

"Contact=established;" Artoo beeped. "Jedi:Master:Kenobi_Obi-wan.fleet.Move(Lysatra);"

"Master Kenobi is coming to Lysatra with the Republic Fleet? Why, that's excellent news, Commander. Perhaps, this entire plan isn't as outrageous as probability suggests."

"This Kenobi is a General?"

"Yes, he commands the 107th fleet."

Thrawn watched curiously as Artoo's head swivelled left and right, lights flashing, magnapeds whirring. 

"Interesting," he said, kneeling down to inspect him further. "It communicates in binary and pseudo-algorithm?"

"Indeed, Commander. Astromechanical units lack the need for a vocabulator. Artoo has been repurposed by Master:Anakin for support in the field."

"Modifications?"

"Artoo.equipment.list(); Output: Thermal Cutter, Arc Welder, Electric Probe, Rocket Thrusters, Advanced Navicomputer, Long Range Com Dish, Concealed Storage Compartment, Dataspike."

He ejected all the little arms and doodads to demonstrate.

"R2-D2.status = battle_ready!"

"The only thing you're ready for is getting your hard disk defragmented," Threepio said sourly. "Now mind your manners. The Commander here saved Master:Anakin's life."

"?!" Artoo beeped appreciatively. "Commander:Mitthrawnuruodo=R2D2.friend?"

Thrawn raised a single finger into the air.

"1!!!" Artoo recognised and spun around happily. 

"Do you have a map of this space station?"

"1!" Artoo beeped and flicked on his holoprojector. 

A small schematic of blue light appeared between them and Thrawn studied it carefully. 

"This is the... _kan'taena?"_ He pointed to the central hub.

"1," Artoo beeped. "Jedi:Padawan:Tano_Ahsoka.location = cantina.location."

"Mmm. General Skywalker is going to that location," Thrawn said. "My team is going to free the slaves. Will you assist?"

"1," Artoo cooed. "Commander.Mitthrawnuruodo & R2-D2 = great_team!"

Thrawn nodded and got to his feet as several more soldiers in black appeared. They donned dark helmets with a mirror finish to conceal their faces and pulled out their rifles. Thrawn tapped the comlink on the side of his helmet and Artoo connected to the frequency with Threepio's help.

"Artoo, I'm uploading an incomplete dictionary of Cheunh for you to use with care," Threepio said.

"Siyashi'musor'su'meccana = pfalesi++"

"I told you to stop calling me that."

The Chiss looked at one another oddly but the Commander didn't seem to mind the chatter. He carefully adjusted the settings on his rifle and moved up to the airlock.

"Tsuseipa'su formation," he said in Cheunh. "Stun settings. No civilian casualties."

"So it shall be, Commander!" the soldiers echoed in unison.

"1!" Artoo beeped heartily.

"Begin jamming communications. One visvia radius."

"Yes, Commander," a voice acknowledged over the coms.

"To victory!"

"To victory, sir!"

The airlock slid open and Thrawn moved out, rifle up and ready as he stepped onto the ramp.

Several Spa-Sec officers and slaver mercenaries had stayed behind to guard the Chiss vessel in case it caused trouble but none were expecting a platoon of Chiss to fire stun blasts at that particular moment.

Six shots whispered across the hangar and connected with Human, Twi'leki and Rodian flesh, felling them quickly. But the large reptilian aliens with scaly skin and vibroblades did not go down so easy.

"Sssisshaasaaah!" they cried and ran at the Chiss but it only took half a second for the Commander to switch over to lethal damage.

The silver rifle in his hands glowed blue down the power strip and released a low whine before unleashing a ball of white and blue light. It kicked in his grip and he took a step back as the blast collided with alien flesh and destabilised its very structure. The bodies ruptured and melted before they hit the floor and the Chiss made the rest of the way down the ramp unmolested.

They moved in a group. Commander, flanked by two. Artoo, flanked by two and eighteen more soldiers, three by row behind them. The droids and engineering crew scattered out of the hangar, desperately calling for help but their coms were jammed.

The Chiss disabled each and every one with pulse of blue light as they moved out of the hangar bay and into the corridor. 

"Scanner.read(life_forms);" Artoo output. "15 employee(s) of the Harrowed Hand = 15 slavers!"

"Understood," Thrawn said as they approached a heavy durasteel door. "How does this open?"

"Emergency_blast_door. status = locked; R2-D2.unlock();"

The little droid wheeled forward and approached the dataport. He ejected the spike and gave it a few quick twirls while the Chiss got into defensive positions.

"door=unlocked!" Artoo beeped.

"Open," Thrawn commanded and the blast door split into four, unravelling to reveal passage into the space station.

The busy corridor was filled with slow-moving bipeds struggling to move on foot while vehicles hovered past them, carrying mercenaries with whips. They floated idly, guiding more than a hundred slaves toward transport ships in various hangars and then the Chiss walked in.

They quickly formed a line and fired fifteen shots in synchronicity before anyone could react. Fifteen waves of light hit fifteen targets and almost all of them went down. Three had to be repeated but once complete, unconscious bodies toppled from hover platforms right into the crowd below.

The captured Lysatrans cared little for who fired first. They saw only the arbiters of their incoming servitude and raced to pilfer the keys to their bonds before the wardens woke up. The crowd became agitated, energetic as more and more chains were unlocked. Anger and war cries went up, churning the passion that each Lysatrans could feel in their bones.

Commander Thrawn fired a very loud warning shot into the ceiling. It echoed through the corridors and lit up the dim lights of the space station.

He said nothing but slowly moved through the crowd, flanked and followed by Chiss soldiers and a single astromech. They reached the front just as several hover-platforms appeared with mercenaries aloft, crackling vibrowhips angrily in their direction.

"Fire," Thrawn said calmly and six shots whispered through the air, making contact with slavers and felling them but two survived.

Thrawn slid the grip of his rifle down and locked it, revealing a buzzing vibroblade which he raised into the air as a slaver came rushing at him on a hover-platform. It sheared in half and fell apart, throwing the mercenary forward into an angry mob of freed Lysatrans ready to tear them apart.

The soldiers in black quickly brought down the second slaver and commandeered his hover platform. Artoo scooted over and drove up onto the control surface, plugging in to reprogram the device and all the others in the area. Thrawn and the Chiss climbed onto the platforms and found their view very much improved as the angry crowd churned below.

It grew bigger and freer as keys were distributed and binders unlocked. The Lysatrans were wary of the black-clad soldiers but then Thrawn raised his rifle into the air.

"I am Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force," he said. "My ship needs fuel and repairs."

The Lysatrans squinted and looked at one another inquisitively.

"What?"

"Chiss?" 

"Fuel?"

The crowd murmured.

"I offer my services in exchange. Do you accept payment in freedom?"

The crowd was sceptical and murmured softly in confusion but then the whir of hover-platforms came whizzing around the bend of the corridors from both sides and the Chiss mobilised into an air force.

Two Chiss to a hover platform and Thrawn had Artoo at his feet. One to steer and one to shoot, immobilising and in some cases, eviscerating the mercenaries and slavers that came whizzing in to inspect the ruckus.

"Increase communications jamming radius to two visvia," Thrawn said, post-shot.

"Yes, Commander," swept through the channel and Artoo swerved the hover platform past another slaver giving Chiss grief. Thrawn quickly ended them with the sharp end of his rifle and the platform drifted up above the crowd at Artoo's behest.

"Freedom in exchange for fuel and repairs," Thrawn said. "This is reasonable, yes?"

The crowd continued murmuring and mumbling.

"Is my syntax incorrect?" Thrawn asked.

_"I believe you are doing incredibly well for a beginner, Commander,"_ Threepio replied.

"Shiny_garbage_man_droid & Commander:Thrawn = amateurs; watch();"

Artoo swivelled his holoprojector up into the ceiling and played a holovid of Anakin Skywalker standing over the body of a broken Separatist droid.

"…freedom from tyranny. The Republic stands united!" the hologram played and Anakin ignited his lightsaber.

The crowd went wild and Artoo beebooped smuggly as Thrawn tilted his head.

"I see. They respond to propaganda and sensational imagery."

"Commander:Thrawn.need(panache++);"

"Mmm."

They watched as the Lysatrans tore off their binders and wrapped up the wardens in chains, stealing their weapons to wave around enthusiastically. 

"Vul'pau formation," Thrawn said and the Chiss gathered around him into a diamond shape before splitting in two and inverting the diamond.

They turned and sped forward, widening the formation as they flew over the Lysatrans and hovered past mercenaries and slavers, cutting them down without much trouble. Those that fell from their platforms were consumed by the growing crowd of freed Lysatrans. 

Soon, the busy roads of the Space Station came to a grinding halt as vehicles were commandeered by angry citizens and toppled by angrier slaves. Spa-Sec officers on patrol bikes appeared but didn't last long. Thrawn stunned one of them and jumped onto a speeder bike as the body fell off. He swerved abruptly to a halt and Artoo came up beside him. 

"The law enforcement communication frequency." Thrawn pointed to the computer and Artoo ejected a cable for him to plug in. Quite soon, the Spa-Sec radio was playing through Chiss helmets and they all listened to static made prevalent by the Springhawk's com jammer.

Thrawn unplugged the cable and examined the bike's controls briefly before hunkering down with a rifle in hand and said, "Follow."

The Chiss sped after him on hover platforms and speeders and swoop bikes as Thrawn led them down the curving corridor to take the enemy by surprise. They soon encountered a massive truck driving into a hangar surrounded by similar mercenaries and Thrawn stowed his rifle.

"H'sotten," he ordered the nearest soldier on swoop bike to approach and pulled out a dual-ended roll of cable. The soldier grabbed the other end and banked left to unroll it as they approached the truck from both sides.

Thrawn tapped a button and the cable grew hot and white as a current passed through it. The soldier tapped a button on his end the cable grew taught between them as they flew straight at the truck. It sheared off the top with an ear-splitting screech as durasteel peeled away like the seal on a tin can and the debris came crashing down in front of the truck.

The driver's compartment was crushed and the vehicle swerved, falling to one side as it entered the hangar and the slaves inside fell free.

The Chiss swooped in before the slavers could regroup and shot up the airlock to their starship, forcing it open. Mercenaries and Spa-Sec officers were stunned with blue bolts or blown up with white and everywhere, Lysatrans were freed, their binders cut or keyed.

"Commander:Thrawn=really good at this;" Artoo chattered from the hover platform.

_"Artoo, be careful,"_ Threepio warned. _"That's a Mark IV Terminus model hover transport. You could cause serious harm if you activate the stunner spike on the bottom."_

"Stunner.spike.activate();" Artoo said and drifted towards an unsuspecting Trandoshan from behind.

The electric prod didn't even touch his backside before a long arc of electricity joined them and fried the mercenary to a crisp.

"WoooOOOoooo!" Artoo squealed. "Commander:Thrawn! Hover_Platform.function.Add(stunner_spike);"

Quite soon, the Chiss found a new way to subdue the slavers and mercenaries, invading each hangar with the express purpose off liberating each ship and transport. The Commander kept increasing the range of the signal jammer and monitoring the frequency for disturbances but the Chiss invasion of the Lysatran Space Station remained a mystery to the authorities until it was too late.

According to Artoo's internal clock, it took less than forty minutes to circle the ring road of the space station and free a majority of the slaves. Two Chiss soldiers were injured and returned to Hangar 67 upon completion of the lap and several more retired. 

A fresh platoon of Chiss emerged from the Springhawk and followed the Commander back onto the Space Station where pandamonium had erupted in the long cylindrical corridors. The soldiers in black pushed through the crowd and followed the map Artoo was projecting up for Thrawn.

"Head north toward the turbolift," he commanded and their shielded Phalanx moved forward into the center of the circular space station. Slowly but surely, they came to the worn durasteel doors but when the Commander tapped the button, there was no response.

"R2.D2.assist();" the astromech beeped and plugged into maintenance panel.

The Chiss held the perimeter, subduing several angry Lysatrans before they could seriously hurt themselves and then the doors opened.

Thrawn, Artoo and several soldiers went in, the others stayed behind. 

"Kan'taena," Thrawn said and Artoo quickly programmed the lift.

A light background tune played as they travelled up through the many levels but the Chiss didn't move, dutifully standing to attention behind their Commander and the droid. A chime sounded as they reached the right floor and Thrawn raised his rifle with a shaky hand.

"Master:Anakin.location=here?" Artoo queried.

"Mmm," Thrawn nodded. "Anakin is here."


	18. Chapter 18

Ahsoka watched as the soldiers in black marched into the cantina, their escort nervously keeping their distance. A man in uniform stood in the lead, his hair dark blue and his skin slightly paler. His bright red eyes studied the sentients in the hall, head held high and nose in the air. He noticeably cringed at the sight of the gamblers and alcoholics that pervaded the area and Ahsoka didn't recognise the expression on his face when he saw the captured rebels. She did however think that this reaction was quite subdued.

Jury noticed their arrival and nodded to the Spa-Sec officers beside him. They stalked off and approached the party with apprehension and grim faces.

"You the Chiss?" Ferrera said, removing the teeth-picker from his mouth.

"We _are_ Chiss," the alien said stiffly. 

Ferrera locked eyes with him but was quickly unsettled and looked away.

"We have to search you for weapons," he said.

"Then do so," the _Commander_ made it sound almost like a challenge.

Ferrera hesitated for a moment but then nodded to the Spa-Sec officer on his right. Barrone walked up to the Chiss with less than a lick of confidence.

"Raise your arms," he said.

The Chiss stared at him with glowing red eyes just long enough to make the guard swallow and his heart plummet. Then he tilted his head and obliged, lifting his arms up with surprising flexibility for one wearing such a rigid military jacket.

Barrone pulled a hand scanner from his holster and passed it over the Chiss who didn't so much as blink. The scanner beeped several times and output some numbers on the tiny screen.

"Hmmm, no explosives but your firearms got dangerous power levels. I'm afraid you're gonna have to leave them behind."

"I will not trade with a man that disarms his clients and keeps his own weapon," the Chiss said sternly, his head turning slightly to face Jury all the way across the room. 

The cantina had grown quiet upon arrival of the Chiss. Many had stayed out of fear of leaving but others were curious and remained to see if the legends were true. Now, the cantina was silent.

Ferrera turned to look at Jury but his eyes were still locked on the Chiss. But then he sighed and nodded.

"Alright, you can keep your handgun but the rest of your men need to leave those rifles where I can see 'em."

"Very well." The Chiss nodded to his men and they relinquished their weapons to a Spa-Sec officer that crumpled under the weight of the equipment.

"May we proceed?"

Ferrera nodded. "This way."

The Chiss marched in time behind their Commander, all except one who seemed to have trouble keeping the beat. Their footsteps echoed through the cantina where even the music had died down to an inaudible hum and kept hearts beating with fear.

Jury got up from his seat, cigar in hand and took a nice long drag before letting the smoke drift out of his mouth. The Chiss caught a large waft of it but it rolled over him like a wave and his burning red eyes remained eerily visible through the white cloud.

"Commander," Jury grinned, holding out a hand.

The Chiss looked down at it with thinly veiled contempt.

"Not a hand-shakin' species, huh?" Jury said, moving in to pat him on the shoulder. "No matter. Come this way…" He guided the him over to a large table where six reptilian aliens were sat and offered him a chair.

The Commander gestured to one of his soldiers who sat down in the offered seat and pushed it in. The soldier removed her helmet and smoothed out her long black hair before scrutinising the aliens at the table through half-lowered lids, her dark blue lips pouted into a sneer. The Commander himself sat down beside her in Jury's chair.

"Uh, okay," the Station Chief said, gesturing for Ferrera to bring him another.

The soldiers fell in behind their Commander, forming a wall around him and the stern but beautiful blue woman in black. They were all wearing black, a blue and white symbol on their shoulder pads glowing gently in the dim light.

"I believe introductions are in order," Jury said in a pleasant tone as he sat down on a freshly procured stool. "May I introduce the six Seeshus of the Harrowed Hand, owners and purveyors of fine quality sentient chattels throughout the galaxy."

Neither of the Chiss moved or smiled or said a word, their glowing red eyes narrowed.

"His magnificence, Fysszix Siroxis III." The reptilian head rose on its long neck to examine the newcomers.

"His illustriousness, Fortrexx Shiaxsu VI." The green robed Vexessylan with yellow scales inclined his head.

"His petulance, Vsushaisss Xusaxxis." A brown scaled head bowed but the slitted yellow eyes did not blink.

"His incorrigibleness, Hesshax Thasspius." Another brown scaled alien nodded.

"His voratiousness, Sussaxu Miaxiii." The Vexessylan, this one with red scales, let a long thin tongue escape his mouth before quickly retracting it.

"And his immeasurable omnipotence, Yussmaxis Vssasshu." The alien didn't move. His long neck was stiff and held his head high above all of them.

"I am Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo," the Chiss said. "And this is Captain Lorae'ulo'raxu. We come to barter for all of your stock."

"Jsshury tells us your people consume the living flesh of Humansss," Hesshax hissed.

"What we do with our purchases is of no one's concern but ours," the Commander replied curtly.

"I sssee."

"You said your starting offer was six million credits," Jury interrupted.

"Indeed," the Commander nodded. "However, this figure is subject to change depending on the numbers and condition of goods you are willing to provide."

"We are more than willing to accommodate your needs for the right pricccee," Fortrexx hissed.

"Then let us begin," the Chiss nodded and pulled out a datapad. "How many units do you possess in total?"

Fortrexx pulled out his own data device and began scrolling through the numbers.

"We have one hundred and fifty thousand four hundred and twenty three Humans processed and ready for transport."

"We do not require transport," the Chiss said. "Does this number include all of the slaves or just the ones you are willing to sell?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I believe you have misunderstood our intentions," the Commander said calmly. "We wish to purchase _all_ of your slaves." He nodded at the Twi'lek woman pouring drink into the slaver's cup. "Price is no object, though it will be subject to quality assurance and review."

"I sssee," Fortrexx hissed pleasantly. "We may consider selling our own personal slaves but only at a premium of ten times the rate of the average Lysatran on offer."

"I assume the bulk of your stock is made up of Lysatran Humans?"

"Yess, they're hard-working and make good labourers as long as they have breathable atmosphere and food."

"This is good," the Chiss said. "However, in purchasing the entire inventory, I am obliged to reason that not all are fit for hard labour. In fact, we may be purchasing women, children, the ill and the elderly in this transaction. For each, we will expect a significant decrease in price per head."

"Naturally," Fysszix said, sipping on wine.

The Chiss woman turned to the Commander and whispered something in hushed tones.

"My colleague would ask if the slaves have been thoroughly examined for medical anomalies." 

"We use the same ssstandard tests for all of our goods. They are graded based on age, sex, height, weight, build and medical condition. And unlike our competitors, we cull the sick before they have a chance to ssspread illness to the ressst."

"Are you implying that none of your stock is ill or infirm?"

"As close as you will find on this side of the galaxy. Disease kills business faster than blasters."

"I see," the Chiss nodded. "Can you provide me with your gradation scale and numbers?"

The alien tapped at his datapad and transferred the charts and lists.

"We have sixty six thousand, two hundred and ninety seven male Humans between the ages of twenty and thirty five years. Athletic. No prior medical conditions. Grade 1 compliant according to the Standard Slave Charter in the Turmanis Systems."

"And the price per head?"

"5000 credits."

The Chiss captain quickly whispered something in the Commander's ear and took his datapad.

"I assume this includes transport and shipping costs," he said calmly. "In our case, we shall be handling the shipping and logistics ourselves."

"I see. In that case, we may be willing to lower the price by 500 credits per head."

The Chiss woman quickly returned the Commander's datapad and whispered a few more words in his ears but he did not respond.

"And what are you feeding these Humans?" he continued.

"They are kept half-starved on a diet of pre-prepared rations."

"And why is this?"

"To keep them from rebelling, of course," Hesshax hissed. "A weakened slave is much easier to control."

"But performs at nowhere near peak efficiency. If these Grade 1 slaves are meant for serious manual labour as you claim, would starvation not decrease their body mass and therefore their strength?"

"Grade 1 slaves are sold far too quickly to see any severe deterioration in body mass."

"So you admit there is some?"

"A negligible amount. The Grade 1 slaves are kept separately and monitored to avoid damage or deterioration."

"Are they kept free range?"

The Vexessylans went quiet and exchanged sly glances and flicked their tongues.

"Mass transport requires that they be contained in quarters no bigger than a standard cabin."

"How many per cabin?"

The aliens paused again.

"Four," one of them said but the Chiss woman narrowed her eyes and raised a finger to her lips.

The Vexessylan flicked his tongue in and out.

"Are you being dishonest with us?" the Commander asked severely.

"Eight," Fortrexx admitted.

The Commander frowned.

"So the premium Grade 1 slaves you claim to be capable of heavy manual labour, are half-starved and kept in tightly enclosed spaces, unable to exercise."

"As we say, the Grade 1s get sold almossst immediately and experience little to no deterioration in quality."

"How long has your stock been kept?"

"Sssix days."

The Chiss woman pursed her lips together and stared bright red daggers into the Vexessylan's slitted eyes. The alien tried to keep a straight face but soon looked away.

"Thirteen daysss at the most."

The Commander sniffed.

"So you offer us malnourished, sedentary Humans that require at least thirteen days of rehabilitation before they are able to work?"

The Seeshus shook their heads, waving long necks hither and to.

"In respect for your shrewd business-making we are willing to offer you a further discount of one thousand credits."

"This discount, of course, will be applied to the average selling price set by the Galactic Trading Network." The Chiss held up his datapad showing the average cost of Grade 1 slaves. "484 credits per head."

The slavers hissed something between themselves angrily, muttering about the loss.

"And since we're buying in bulk, I would expect you to round the total down to thirty two million credits in total."

The Vexessylans suddenly changed their tone. The price per head was nothing compared to the number of slaves being purchased. 

"Thisss is acceptable."

"Very good. Now, tell me of the other slaves."

Ahsoka frowned and looked around. The Lysatrans were getting paler by the second. The appearance of real live Chiss had set them on edge and Jeb was on the verge of a mental breakdown, she could feel it. A tendril of fear licked her spine as she realised what had befallen poor Eli Vanto and Jeb had come to the same conclusion. 

Ahsoka had done everything in her power to help the Lysatrans but somehow she'd made it all so much worse. Eli was gone but Jury and the slavers remained, ready to trade with the equally ruthless Chiss who were going to eat the Humans for dinner. And she was still stuck in stasis.

The key card was gone, carried away by a sticky-footed Ithorian as he walked past. And she had very few options left but to watch and wait. She scanned the wall of Chiss soldiers in black laminate, two facing the table while the others faced the room. One turned his head and Ahsoka could swear he looked right at her, the cold shell somehow alive and familiar.

And then the feeling was gone.

Where was Anakin? That strong presence that made itself known to her through the Force. It spoke of different energies, all converging on the one room like a vision but she couldn't see the conclusion, only snatches of the path leading up to it.

She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on it. The Force. The energy. The center of herself and the entire galaxy.

_"We're here."_

It was Anakin's voice.

"What?"

_"We're here, Snips. Stay calm."_

Ahsoka opened her eyes.

The same scene unfolded. Cantina. Rebels. Jury. Seeshus. Chiss. 

She strained to see the rest of the cantina, where the weary travellers and Lysatrans lucky enough to stay on Jury's good side were drinking their troubles away. The lockdown was still in place it seemed and more than one sentient had found refuge and entertainment in the Space Station's one and only watering hole.

Including a singular and unremarkable astromech droid.

It peddled through the crowd idly, stopping every few metres just long enough to be forgotten. It scooted under tables and drove around chairs and aliens, until it reached the VIP section and settled in the shadow of a lounge to plug into a dataport.

The panel beside Ahsoka turned green but the guards conveniently had their backs to it, facing the troublesome Togruta with a wary eye. She grinned at them slyly. And Lyza caught the expression on her face. She elbowed Marco and Cassa who looked up as Ahsoka winked.

The astromech followed several slaves and a hovercart full of food up the ramp to the VIP section and positioned itself on the far end of the table. A little white light flicked on and pointed ahead as it settled in to watch the deal.

"According to the exchange rate, half a tonne of pfalmium bromus is worth approximately 594.32 lacyon on the market. We are willing to trade at a rate of one lacyon per kilogram, given the inconvenience, resulting in a total value of 500 lacyon."

"We will accept this as payment for our personal household slaves, provided you take them without transport or binding equipment."

"This is agreeable," the Chiss Commander nodded. "So in total, we are to trade the sum of 24 million credits, 48 hundred cataries, 20 thousand routex and 1,223 lacyon, trade goods included, for 150,423 Human Lysatran slaves and 4,872 slaves from your personal collection.

"Yesss," Fortrexx hissed greedily. "You drive a hard bargain, Commander." His eyes flitted over the Chiss Captain for a moment. "But we accept the terms of your offer."

"Good," he said. "A moment while I generate the contract."

The Chiss woman unravelled her folded arms and her hands disappeared under the table. 

"There." The Commander sent the contract through to them.

The Vexessylans all leaned in with their long necks to peruse the file on a single datapad like one great beast with six heads. The Chiss waited patiently as they deliberated and Ahsoka could see Artoo moving in closer to record the holo-contract.

"Looksss like we have a deal," Yussmaxis said and added his digital signature to the document.

The others followed suit and six sigils appeared at the bottom of the page where the Commander added a few strange symbols in hand written script.

"The deal is made," he said with a tiny curl of the lip.

The Captain beside him smiled and slipped her helmet back on, hair disappearing into its inner depths.

"Thank you for your businesss," Jury said pleasantly. "Now if you'll kindly transfer the money…"

Several Spa-Sec officers moved in and pointed their weapons at them. 

"… we can finally kill you and be done with it."

The Chiss raised their hands in surrender but the Commander was still smiling.

"Of course," he said, reaching slowly for his datapad.

And then a flash of blue light blinded them for a moment and six rifles fell to the floor in glowing red pieces.

"You're under arrest for practising slavery inside the Republic," one of the masked soldiers said, lightsaber in hand. "Do not resist."

The Vexessylans hissed as slaves carried their chairs out of the way. Mercenaries and bodyguards ran in to defend them and Jury and his Spa-Sec officers opened fire. The Chiss quickly pulled hand guns out to fire back and the lightsaber-wielding soldier deflected blaster bolts as they came flying.

Ahsoka used the Force to shove the guards beside her back and press the glowing green button holding her trapped in stasis. The energy field powered down and released the aching Jedi Padawan who fell to the ground and rolled forward.

But she was up on her feet in an instant and shouted, "NOW!"

The rebels threw off their binders, got up and tackled the guards who were distracted by the ruckus. Ahsoka jumped in and ignited the lightsabers in her hands, green blades humming as they reached full length and slashed up a mercenary.

More men in black filed into the cantina, blocking the exits and subduing the slavers attempting to run.

It didn't take long to overpower the Spa-Sec officers and soon the slavers and their bodyguards were forced into a corner, backed up against the view wall just as three massive dreadnoughts left hyperspace and drifted toward the station. 

The lightsaber-wielding soldier took off his mask and smirked at Jury and the slavers.

"Welcome to the Republic," Anakin said. "You'll be spending the rest of your lives here."


	19. Chapter 19

"Rex!" Ahsoka cried out as the trooper and his men disembarked from the Republic dreadnought.

"Commander. General," the soldier greeted them in the same no-nonsense way he usually did, underpinned with a slight hint of worry.

"You missed all the fun, Rex," Anakin said, patting him on the shoulder.

"You seem to have a _lot_ of fun without me, sir."

"You won't believe all the stuff that just happened," Ahsoka said cheerfully.

"Care to explain what _happened_ to the Seps out there?" He pointed a thumb out the hangar.

"Yes. I, for one, would quite like to hear how you managed to fight them off," Admiral Yularen agreed as he walked up.

"Haha," Anakin laughed. "I had some help."

"Is there a secret Jedi fleet I should know about, General?"

"Uuuh, something like that." Anakin scratched behind his head sheepishly. 

"Anakin." Obi-wan's voice brought with it the same stern notes of concern it always did. "There you are. And Ahsoka is safe, I take it?"

"Safe and sound, Master Obi-wan," she grinned.

"Anakin, can you please tell your droid to stop broadcasting priority alerts on a military frequency when there is no immediate danger."

"But there was danger, Master," Ahsoka said. "Tonnes of it."

"WooowooOOOooo," Artoo agreed.

The bearded Jedi stroked his chin.

"But it's been resolved?"

"Yes," Anakin nodded. "The Harrowed Hand was harvesting Humans off Lysatra and selling them in the Unknown Regions. But we managed to catch them in the act. Artoo's got all the footage." He patted the astromech's domed head.

Two more parties approached the growing group including a dark-skinned Jedi and an alien with an intricate mask.

"Skywalker," Mace Windu said. "Padawan Tano. I see you've been busy." His dark eyes narrowed.

"There's something we need to discuss, Master Windu," Anakin said, his playful attitude evaporating. "I think it's best if everyone hears this."

"But what of the Separatists?" Plo Koon asked. "Ahsoka said you found signs of battle droids."

"We did," Anakin nodded. "But they're the least of our worries right now."

The Jedi exchanged worried looks and the mood became sombre as they followed Anakin out of the hangar. 

The Lysatran Space Station was filled to the brim with Humans reuniting with lost family. Hospitals and makeshift kitchens had opened up in the corridors to aid the people coming to terms with their predicament. Soldiers of the Republic Army were marching slavers and mercenaries away into dreadnoughts bound for Coruscant and trial.

The party made their way up to the cantina which had become a command center in the wake of the uprising. Jury no longer filled the VIP section with cigar smoke or slavers and most of the chairs were now unoccupied, save one.

Commander Thrawn remained vigilant at the view wall, arm nestled in a sling which a Chiss doctor tightened so that he could not escape. Lieutenant Fuoror passed him a datapad and Captain Eulora tapped her foot impatiently as he went over the data.

"Ma'resh," he said, returning the device as the party of Jedi and Republic troops filtered into the cantina. "Erus'tainah pfurmae'lah'su yurag luen."

"Ma'resh, Crahsystor," the Captain saluted and walked off, passing the incoming party without so much as a greeting.

"Commander?" Anakin said as he ascended the ramp.

Thrawn slowly got out of his seat and waved the medic away.

"General" he said, observing the incoming party with faded red eyes.

"This is Jedi Master Mace Windu, Plo Koon and Obi-wan Kenobi," Anakin introduced the Jedi. "And this is Admiral Yularen, Captain Rex and, well, you know Ahsoka."

The young Togruta waved hello.

"Everyone, this is Commander Thrawn of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force." 

"Greetings." It was Mace Windu who spoke first. "Am I correct in assuming you had something to do with the defeat of the Separatist Fleet?" He gestured beyond the view wall to the starship graveyard outside.

"Yes," the Chiss said. 

"Then you must possess a fleet of great power and size."

Thrawn glanced toward Anakin.

"I am commanding officer aboard the Vir'haru'dani. It is Chiss exploration vessel. We were forced to land on Lysatra four weeks ago."

"One ship did all this?" Admiral Yularen interrupted.

"One battlecruiser and eight starfighters," Anakin grinned.

"We all know you're a talented starfighter pilot, Anakin, but this is no time for boasting."

"It is true," Thrawn said. "We gave fair warning. However, I had not the men to hold them."

"He forced the dreadnought to flee," Anakin explained. "Grievous went running with his tail between his legs."

"You have the Republic's gratitude for aiding us in this time of need," Mace Windu said humbly.

"Then perhaps you will return the favour," Thrawn locked eyes with the stern Jedi.

Windu returned his gaze apprehensively. "What is it that you want?"

"Aid," Thrawn said simply. "There are dangers that exist beyond galactic border. They drive us here. They kill for sport and honour. Pain makes them strong."

"Aliens," Anakin said. "From another galaxy. They're unaffected by the Force. And when they were here, they created a sort of vacuum of Force energy. Ahsoka felt it too."

"It was like nothing I've ever felt before," she said. "It was like… nothing. Like the edge of existence."

"Force-less sentients? Is such a thing even possible?" Obi-wan said folding his arms thoughtfully.

"It's more than possible," Anakin said. "We fought them head on and I couldn't feel them or move them. The Force was barely a deterrent. It was like fighting the void."

"But you defeated them?" Plo Koon said.

"Just barely," Anakin nodded. 

"Many of my men were murdered by Yuuzhan Vong," Thrawn confirmed. 

"Yuuzhan Vong?"

"That's what they call themselves," Anakin said. "Threepio managed to translate some off their speech patterns."

"Oh, Master. It was horrible. Those creatures had the most barbaric vocabulary."

"Shiny_garbage_man_droid=coward;" Artoo beeped.

"Now, see here, you pint sized exhaust pipe!"

"But how did they get here?" Obi-wan said, stroking his beard.

"I bring them," Thrawn admitted. "We attacked and lured them away from our home. They chased and we lead them here."

"And where is your home?"

"It is within what you call the Unknown Regions," Thrawn said. "And if more will come, we cannot hold them back alone. We need aid."

"Do you know when they will attack?" Obi-wan asked.

"No."

"Do you know how many there are?" Mace Windu said sternly.

"No."

"Then how can you expect us to aid you?"

"I aid you here," Thrawn said. "I will aid you again, and more if I must. When I know the enemy that comes, you will aid me."

"That seems reasonable," Obi-wan said. "Are you and your men open to working with the Republic Army?"

"First, we return to the Chiss Ascendancy," Thrawn said. "If you come to this region, these machines will know how to contact me." He pointed at the droids.

"R2-D2.AddtoContacts(Commander:Thrawn);"

"I have the Springhawk's data stored in my memory banks," Threepio acknowledged.

"You're leaving?" Ahsoka said.

"Yes. We have stayed too long and will be missed."

"Well, you're welcome in Republic Space any time," Anakin said, grabbing his free hand and giving it a good shake. "You ever want to join the Republic Navy, just drop the name Anakin Skywalker by Chancellor Palpatine and you will get the best seat in the house." 

Thrawn examined his hand worriedly as Anakin let go and realised he'd pressed a little too hard with his mechanical arm.

"Thank you," Thrawn said quietly. "I leave the station under your command."

"It's in good hands," Anakin nodded, hands on his hips.

"Yes," Obi-wan agreed, "Master Windu and I will conduct a thorough inspection of Lysatra for this disturbance in the Force."

"You're not gonna find much of it," Anakin said. "The Chiss levelled the droid factory where the Yuuzhan Vong were camping out."

"Even so," Mace Windu replied. "We must understand the forces working around us, especially if the Separatists chose this planet to build a Geonosian droid factory."

The discussion began and continued throughout the day as the Jedi and Republic troops scoured the station and later, the planet for clues leading to the location of the Separatists in Wild Space and of course, the Yuuzhan Vong.

\---

Ahsoka helped carry the medical supplies out of the ship, using the Force to move the heavy crates off the dreadnought and onto the space station. She got them as far as the Infirmary door before letting them drop, exhausted and panting.

The relief effort was going well, with most Lysatrans receiving the care and attention the Republic had denied them for so long. But for the young padawan, the desire to help had prevented her from taking anything resembling a break in hours.

She wiped the sweat off her forehead and opened the door to the Infirmary where too many beds were crammed into the limited space. She pointed to the crates full of supplies and several medical droids drove out to unpack them.

Ahsoka leaned into the wall and sighed.

"You are dehydrated," one of the MD units vocabulated. "Please rehydrate immediately." It passed her a bottle of water and Ahsoka took it, cracking open the cap as she looked around.

A great number of Lysatrans had been hospitalized after their ordeal, many developing pneumonia or malnutrition in the care of the Harrowed Hand. But slowly the people were mending and soon, they would return home. A garrison of men was to be left on Lysatra, lest the Separatists decided to return and the people were grateful.

Ahsoka took a few thirsty gulps of the water and wiped her mouth. She quickly spotted a familiar face at the end of the cluster of cots and smiled. 

Jeb Vanto was beaten and bleeding and bandaged but he sat up on the cot beside his son and held his hand tightly, refusing to let go. He brushed a hand through his hair and touched his face, glad for once, to be wrong.

Eli sniffed and squinted and rubbed his eyes, waking up from a long and troubled sleep and Jeb quickly stirred.

"Eli?"

"Dad?"

"Eli," he said. "You're alright."

"Mmm. I feel a bit dizzy."

"It's alright, son. You're gonna be fine."

"What happened?" Eli muttered. "I remember the Jedi and… the screams… and then I went to bed and…"

Jeb frowned. 

"It was the slavers, son," he said. "You were playing too close to the woods and they took you."

"Slavers?"

"They've been harvesting off Lysatra for years," Jeb admitted.

"But what about the Chiss?"

"There are no Chiss, Eli," Jeb said sternly. "We made them up so you wouldn't go to the places where people were being taken."

"But…" Eli mumbled. "Where are we?"

"We're on the space station," Jeb said. "The Republic saved us from the slavers."

"The Jedi?"

"Yeah, it was the Jedi, son. Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker saved your life."

"Really?" Eli said, trying to sit up. "I told you they were cool."

"Yeah, you did," Jeb chuckled, messing up the boy's hair.

"I wanna be a Jedi too," Eli said enthusiastically. "I wanna be a hero and save people. And I want a yellow lightsaber." He swung an imaginary sword around.

Jeb frowned suddenly.

"You… you can't be a Jedi, son."

"Why not?"

"It's something you're born with," Jeb said solemnly. "We're just normal folk, Eli. We're not important or special. We do what we can to get by in the world."

"But what if I try really really hard?"

Jeb swallowed, his hands shaking.

"It doesn't matter, Eli," he said. "You'll never be a Jedi. But you'll always be my son, do you understand?"

"Dad, why are you crying?"

"It's just… something in my eye. Come here." Jeb enveloped Eli in a big hug and Ahsoka turned away.

She tried sipping at the bottle of water but each gulp was suddenly stuck in her throat and she left the Infirmary before she heard any more. There were some things she just couldn't bring herself to feel. And this was one of them.

The Jedi Order was the closest thing to family she had but it wasn't the same. 

Emotion. Attachment. These were undesirable traits for a Jedi and despite everything Anakin had taught her, they would one day be forced to part ways.

Ahsoka walked slowly back to the supply ship hangar, her steps heavy and laboured. Clone troopers and medics rushed by, helping people get back on their feet. She watched them idly, wondering if any of this would be happening if the Republic Army had stayed on Lysatra in the first place. If there were no Clone Wars.

"Ahsoka!" she heard a shout from the crowd and quickly spotted Lyza, shoving her way through it.

"Ahsoka, honey," Lyza tackled her into a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Lyza. How are you doing?"

"Much better now that Jury and his snakes are locked up on a Republic dreadnought. I tell you, Ahsoka, there's nothing like a big, hot serving of justice to put the spirit back into folks," she said, gesturing to the bustling crowd. 

"Are you hungry?" she asked suddenly. 

"I'm-"

"Skin and bones. You'd think the Jedi would feed you better. Come with me." 

Lyza grabbed Ahsoka's hand and pulled her into the crowd. They squeezed through people and families and troopers and officials. Without Spa-Sec, the station was quickly devolving into a hot mess. But within the madness, there emerged a kitchen and tables and chairs and people happily slurping Lyza's home-away-from-home-cooked stew.

"Here." She poured Ahsoka a bowl. "Now you sit right here and eat it."

"I'm fine, really."

"Marco, watch her," Lyza commanded. "I've got more kids to feed." 

She went back to her duties at the feeding station and Ahsoka sat down to eat.

"Lyza catch you too, huh?" Marco grinned beside her.

"Yeah, she came out of nowhere," Ahsoka shook her head. "How are you doing?"

"Not bad," he said. "Got a nasty bruise on my leg from kicking a Trandoshan but it could be worse."

"How's Silas?"

"They moved him into one of the clinics in the city. He missed the riots, fortunately."

Ahsoka grinned. "He probably would have tried fighting Jury on one leg if you let him."

"Yeah, can you imagine him swinging his crutches at the slavers like this-" He waved his arms comically.

They both laughed.

"Hey, you're Ahsoka, right?" a young man greeted them. 

"Yeah," she said.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done," he said, reaching out to shake her hand. 

"Oh, uh, you're welcome."

"Ahsoka?"

"Hey, it's Ahsoka."

More and more people crowded around the table to shake her hand and say a few words. It brightened her mood and the Lysatrans sat down to eat with far more vigour and enthusiasm, encouraged by Lyza who kept the stew flowing. Ahsoka had eaten three bowls without noticing when the excited chatter died down to a worried whisper.

"Typhos, it's them," Marco said quietly and Ahsoka's head turned to look where everyone else was looking.

Two lines of soldiers in black marched through the corridors with two officers in the lead. Ahsoka recognized Commander Thrawn and Lieutenant Fuoror at the head of the column and followed them with her eyes.

 _"Can't believe they're real,"_ Marco whispered beside her.

_"Why didn't the Republic lock them up?"_

_"Are they going to eat us?"_

The whispers went up and down and Ahsoka shook her head.

"They're aliens, not monsters," she said with a smirk but the Lysatrans didn't seem overly convinced.

They watched the column of Chiss with trepidation. The tall blue men marched in time, heads held high and proud, red eyes gleaming. They didn't interrupt the flow of traffic but everyone gave them a wide berth.

The crowd went silent as they passed and Ahsoka caught Commander Thrawn's gaze for a moment, his eyes pale and barely glowing. He gave her a small nod and continued marching as everyone else stopped to stare.

Ahsoka sighed.

"What are you all looking at?" she said loudly and several people jumped in surprise. But it broke them out of the trance and they quickly began discussing the Chiss amongst themselves.

"You people sure love to gossip, huh?" she said to Marco.

"There's not much else to do on Lysatra," he shrugged. "Except, you know, defeating the Separatists and rioting against Spaceport Security and arresting the Harrowed Hand…"

Ahsoka shook her head. "Yeah, terribly boring, all of it."

Their good-natured banter was interrupted by an ear-splitting scream. It came from behind and Ahsoka was on her feet and running towards it before anyone even turned their head. She jumped over the top of people, stepping off the side of a van to propel herself forward.

She could see the crowd parting in the distance. A girl in a ragged dress was pulling desperately away from a man but he held on tight and she shrieked, "Help!"

Ahsoka ran forward but then a column of black soldiers stepped in and she lost sight of them. 

"Let go of me!" the girl shouted. "Stop!"

Ahsoka recognised her voice. It was Cassa's sister, Carriella. The ranger had looked away for only a moment but it was enough.

"Come on, darling, s'only a bit of fun."

"No! Please!"

The pair were quickly surrounded by Chiss soldiers and Ahsoka found herself walled off when she finally reached them.

"What do you want, blue face?" she heard the man say.

"Release her," Thrawn said sternly.

"Or what?" the cocky Lysatran sneered.

Ahsoka tried to push in between two Chiss soldiers but they stood fast.

And then she heard a second scream. This one long and drawn out and male.

Ahsoka shoved hard with the Force and the soldiers parted, making room for her to enter the circle.

"Commander Ahsoka Tano," Lieutenant Fuoror greeted her with a nod.

"Thrawn!" she called out. "What are you doing?"

He twisted the knife and pulled it out of the man's crotch, letting him scream and cry as he fell to the floor.

"This man was witnessed attempting to sexually molest this woman," Fuoror said calmly. "Rape is punishable by chemical castration in the Chiss Ascendancy. For lack of the right tools, Commander Thrawn has performed a public service."

Thrawn activated a bright white light which cleaned the length of his blade before stowing it back on his belt.

"You may now administer first aid," he said.

"No!" Carrie shouted and grabbed onto Thrawn's arm. "You have to kill him or he'll do it again."

The Chiss was unmoved by her plight. "He now lacks the necessary parts to do so."

"You can't just let him go free. Not after what he did to me. You have to kill him."

Thrawn looked down at the girl, angry tears filling her eyes. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear and she let go of his arm and fell to her knees crying.

Ahsoka ran forward to catch her and hugged her tight.

"It's alright, Carrie, I've got you," she said. "Someone get a medic!"

The call went up and clone troopers soon appeared on the scene but the Chiss didn't stay any longer. They marched off toward Hangar 67 in tight formation and were never seen again.

"What did he say, Carrie?" Ahsoka whispered. "Did he threaten you?"

"H-he… he said life is more painful than death..."


	20. Chapter 20

\- 20 years later -

 

Commander Vanto walked through the dark halls of Imperial Naval Headquarters for the very last time. As Commander, at least.

The busy building was full of Imperial officers, hustling and bustling in the day to day minutiae of their assignments, winding down to a close. A few people saluted him as he walked past, a few nodded respectfully and some ignored him outright. But Eli was used to it now.

His feet carried him down a familiar path and turned left, entering the Admiralty offices which were laid out spaciously on all sides. Vanto walked all the way down the corridor to find a woman just leaving the office he was about to enter.

"Oh, Commander," Malala Vilnews said. "Good evening."

"Evening, ma'am," Vanto nodded, struggling to keep the Wild Space out of his words. "Is the Admiral in?"

"Admiral Erghast is out right now, I'm afraid," she said. "Probably at the High Court Ball like the others." She gestured to the empty offices behind him.

"Uh, I'm not looking for Erghast actually," Vanto said. "Where's Admiral Thrawn?"

"Oh, the Grand Admiral was given a new office on the top floor, Commander," Vilnews said pleasantly. "Congratulations to both of you. I hear Batonn was a total victory."

"Uuuh, yes," Vanto said, swallowing the guilt. "Thank you, Vilnews. I guess, this is goodbye then."

"For now but not forever, I hope," she smiled sweetly. "I have to run. Pass my regards on to the Grand Admiral, won't you?"

"Sure."

"Thanks. I'll see you later, Commander." She bustled away, carrying datapads and disks and scanners in an undetermined direction and Vanto watched her go.

He took a few steps toward the very end of the corridor and tapped the button for the turbolift. It was a rare occasion when Eli Vanto found himself on Coruscant, save the occasional court martial for enabling Thrawn's incredible schemes.

The court-martials had stopped once the Chiss was promoted to the Admiralty board which conducted the very process and their only reason for coming to Coruscant became moot. Most of their lives were spent aboard the Chimaera now - Thrawn's flagship Imperial-II Star Destroyer.

Vanto sometimes wondered if he'd chosen the ship on purpose. Not for its turbolasers, cannons or massive hangar of TIE fighters. But for the stylized decal of the Chimaera painted on the hull by Admiral Xenti to frighten the natives of a primitive planet in the Outer Rim.

Thrawn could never resist collecting a work of art, especially one used in such an artistic manner.

The turbolift arrived and took him up to the top floor. It was a wide open space. Tiled and decorated as one would expect the Imperial Palace to be, with statues and paintings of starships and naval heroes. And Vanto stepped into the center of the wide hall, trying to determine which door would lead to Thrawn's new office.

The Grand Admirals did not have secretaries. They had entire departments to handle bureaucracy and were rarely disturbed, if only by the Emperor himself.

Vanto took a step forward, walking past a jet black door with the number One, laser cut and backlit in white. This office belonged to Grand Admiral Bessicker and the First Fleet. A sizable collection of antique cruisers and dreadnoughts that patrolled the Core Worlds. Relics of the Clone Wars, impressive to behold.

The Second and Third doors belonged to Grand Admirals Weisshapt and Lokanis respectively. Guardians of the Inner Rim on opposite sides of the Core. Their Fleets were newer, lighter, faster, quick to snuff out rebellion before it was ever kindled so close to the Capital.

Vanto kept walking. Neither he nor Thrawn had ever been stationed anywhere near the Inner Rim, let alone the Core worlds where trouble was synonymous with treason. Following their time at Royal Imperial Academy, journeys to Coruscant meant reassignment or promotion.

He walked past doors Four, Five, Six and Seven. Grand Admirals Carpafian, Synna, Tarjullis and Faelish were Sentinals of the Mid Rim. Their fleets and influence spread wide like a net, engulfing several sectors in Star Destroyers and Moffs. It was these fleets that kept upstarts like the Wookies in line when rebellion stirred.

Commander Vanto had met Grand Admiral Synna personally during one of the long and boring functions he was expected to attend as Thrawn's aide. And even the cunning Chiss respected the man for his strategic skill and wit. Synna was no fool and suffered none in his presence, though what he would think of a Chiss Grand Admiral, Vanto couldn't say.

He passed doors Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven and Twelve. The small white numbers glowed eerily against jet black doors and in some ways, the Commander was reminded of the Emperor's Throne Room. Silent, powerful, dark and intimidating. But Grand Admirals Mustaff, Al Madda, Fortesk, Valeronn and Xing La were hardly ever on Coruscant.

The Wardens of the Outer Rim were spread thin across sectors but their fleets were massive, their weaponry cutting edge, their numbers surpassing the population of the planets they patrolled. Grand Moff Tarkin himself had donated generous amounts of money to make sure the sectors under his control were properly protected.

Vanto slowed his step as he passed the doors, searching for the glowing white number Thirteen that ought to logically follow. When he looked back he saw the twelve doors were evenly distributed, six on both sides and no more.

He came to end of the grand hall and squinted through the semi-darkness to spy the outline of a similar door. He reached out and traced the number thirteen with his finger, laser-cut into steel but without a back light.

Vanto rolled his eyes and sighed.

Thrawn's office was the last one on the block but it was still there, no matter how much the Imperials tried to hide it. Xenophobia wasn't news to either of them but the young Commander half-expected the petty griping over their origins to cease once they reached a high enough rank. It was clear now, that it was never going to happen.

He stopped at the door, his head plummeting downward, eyes fixed on his boots. They were polished to a fine black shine. His uniform pressed into neat blue-grey lines. And on his chest was pinned a silver rank plaque with three red tiles and three bright blue. Something he'd never thought he'd see when he joined the Imperial Navy.

Eli hoped to be a successful Supply Officer by now, in charge of a Depot or a small Supply Ship somewhere in Wild Space. A modest but well-paying job working numbers as he liked to do. But somehow, Vanto had ended up here. Aide to Grand Admiral Thrawn, a stone's throw away from the Imperial Palace across the street.

He took a deep breath and tapped the intercom on the wall.

"Admiral?"

The panel flickered green and Vanto keyed the door.

It slid open and he walked inside to find a familiar darkened room with holo-busts and paintings on the walls. One sleek silver desk in the center. The only difference between Thrawn's office aboard the Chimaera and this one was the view beyond the window wall. A sprawling cityscape of spacescrapers and grandiose Imperial buildings stretching out into the horizon. And before it stood a tall man in white uniform, pale blue hands folded neatly behind his back.

"Commander," Thrawn acknowledged, his glowing red eyes reflected in the transparisteel.

"Grand Admiral," Vanto said, stepping forward as the door slid shut. "Vilnews asked me to pass along her congratulations."

"Thank you," he said, turning to face him. The Chiss wore his usual expression of stern contemplation but Eli caught the faint glint of amusement in his eye.

"You look good in white, sir," Vanto smirked, eyeing the gold epaulettes on his shoulders and the massive rank plaque pinned to his chest.

"So I've been told," the Chiss said with a half-concealed smile. "Apparently, the uniform comes with a lot more office space."

"I noticed they forgot to light up the Thirteen," Vanto pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

"They also forgot to install the holocom, computer terminal and caf machine," the Chiss said dryly.

"I bet they didn't forget to bug the place, though," Vanto smirked.

Thrawn nodded and opened the palm of his hand to demonstrate the tiny listening devices he'd located in the interim. He tipped his hand and they went clattering down into the waste disposal beside his desk one by one.

"You were expecting me?" the Commander said, looking over the many Lysatran artworks in the room.

"Yes," the Admiral said, turning back to look out the view wall.

Vanto approached the desk, watching Thrawn from a distance, trying to think of the right words to say. He'd practiced on the way there. For several days, in fact. But somehow, simplicity still dominated his mind and made apparent his Wild Space upbringing.

"I've come to offer my resignation from the Imperial Naval Forces, sir," he said, straight to the point.

Thrawn said nothing, continuing to gaze out the view wall, or at Vanto's reflection, he still couldn't tell.

"I know I promised to stay by your side but… I can't do this anymore," he said, his throat tightening. "We're not helping people like we should be. We're… hurting them."

The Chiss didn't respond in any visible way, unsurprised by this turn of events.

"But you already knew that, didn't you?" Vanto said.

Thrawn turned slowly, shadows playing on the many ridges and contours of his face.

"Yes," he said simply.

Vanto sighed and looked down. His fingers wrapped around the rank plaque on his chest and unpinned the badge. He placed it carefully down on the desk in front of him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

The Chiss looked at him curiously with a characteristic tilt of the head.

"Whatever for?"

"I know you expected me to stay," Vanto said. "But I can't. Not after Batonn. I went over the numbers again and… it's too much."

Thrawn turned away and drifted out from behind his desk to study a portrait nearby.

"I know it's not my fault. And I know it's not yours either but-"

"It is entirely my fault," Thrawn said quietly. "I was in charge of the operation."

"Look, I may not be the smartest person in the galaxy but even I can see that Governor Pryce had more to do with it than she's admitted."

"Regardless, everything that transpired, did so under my supervision," Thrawn said. "I am complicit for the crimes on Batonn. And I do not begrudge you this resignation."

Vanto stared at the back of his head and sighed.

"Thank you, sir," he said, somewhat relieved. He thought it would be a lot harder to quit, especially the trying-to-convince-Thrawn part but he seemed to have anticipated this outcome before even Eli did.

The former Commander turned to look out the wide view wall that took up most of the Grand Admiral's office and his curiosity got the better of him. He walked up to the transparisteel and pressed both hands against it, leaning in to get a good look at Capital City.

"It's beautiful," he said ponderously, wondering how many hours the Admiral had spent in that very spot. "You're staying then, sir?"

"My duty is here," Thrawn said quietly, appearing by his side.

"You could leave if you wanted," Vanto shrugged. "Sure, there aren't many jobs as cushy as Grand Admiral but I'm sure you could find something that pays just as good."

"You think so little of me, Commander?"

"I'm just sayin', all this art s'gotta be worth a lot of money," Vanto grinned, letting more and more of his Lysatran accent seep through.

"You think so?" Thrawn threw him a cursory glance, a cunning glint in his eye.

The Commander's grin faded away as his eyes fell upon the Imperial Palace looming before them. Dark spires, a gleaming black pyramid. Tall, regal and somewhat terrifying - the seat of the Emperor of the galaxy.

"I think these people don't deserve your talent," Vanto said quietly. "They don't have your patience or your restraint. And they have no trouble exploiting you. Or me. But I'm not gonna let 'em do it anymore," he let the Imperial accent wash away.

"I'm goin' back to Lysatra where I belong. And I hope ta find myself along the way."

Thrawn nodded solemnly as Eli looked around the room at the many Lysatran artworks spread far and wide. Ochre paintings and gunpowder drawings, the wide open landscapes and the rustic portraits that painted the walls. It made him feel homesick almost; a wave that rushed through him as the floodgates lifted.

And then his eyes fell upon Thrawn's desk, littered with flimsi drawings.

"What are these, sir?" Eli said, picking up the cacophony of colour.

"I've been studying the work of a certain artist I discovered many years ago," Thrawn said quietly. "I believe he may be familiar to you."

Eli smirked, looking at the terrible crayon scratchings. It seemed as if a child had been given only three colours to work with; red, blue and black. There were blue people on the page? He couldn't really tell. But a square-ish house was definitely on fire.

"You know I'm not good at this art stuff," Eli pouted. Thrawn had tried to make him see what he saw on many occasions but mostly it just left him confused and disoriented.

Eli flipped through the pages, all equally filled with primitive crayons drawings and then he saw the back of the last page. There, in bright red aurabesh squiggles was written "ELI, 9".

"These are…" He quickly flipped through them again. _"I_ drew these," he realised.

"Yes," Thrawn said.

"How did you-"

"I travelled to Lysatra many years ago," he offered. "The natives seemed to have certain sensibilities about the Chiss." He looked down at the drawings in Eli's hand. "Your work proved most enlightening."

"I… I remember." He flipped through the pages again. "Everyone said the Chiss were just monsters made up to keep the kids in line." He shook his head.

"And you thought the monsters were, as you say, _cool?"_

Eli looked up at Thrawn's glowing red eyes.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "I wanted to see one. Catch it, maybe. Poke it with a stick."

Thrawn's mouth curled into a seldom used smile.

"I felt much the same way when I was your age."

"What?"

"I brought great danger to your planet, Eli," Thrawn admitted. "I brought real monsters to Lysatra. And they gave you the scar on your neck."

Vanto's hand quickly reached up to his collar.

"It's just a bug bite," he said defensively.

"Yes." The crimson eyes glittered. "An insect infected you with foreign cells that grew into a parasite, giving an alien entity control of your mind."

"Okay, Thrawn. This isn't funny."

"No," the Chiss said, reaching into his desk drawer. "It is not."

He pulled out a small clear cube of resin and held it out for Eli to see. There was a small insect trapped inside, a long snout erupting from its tiny many-eyed head.

Eli swallowed, pulling at his collar which was suddenly uncomfortably tight around his neck.

"Do you believe in chance encounters, Eli Vanto?" Thrawn said.

The former Commander's eyes drifted down to examine the bug again. Creepy and foreign yet somehow familiar. He reached out and picked up the resin cube.

"My father said the slavers took me. I ended up in the hospital because of a bug bite."

"No," Thrawn's voice darkened. _"I_ took you."

Eli looked up at him apprehensively.

"You were sedated and kept aboard a Chiss Expansionary Defense Force vessel for several days before succumbing to the mind control of an alien entity known as the Yuuzhan Vong," Thrawn explained.

"Mind control?"

"Bioengineering. Organic weapons, armour, starships capable of crossing the boundary between our galaxy and the next."

"I don't understand."

"They came looking for prey," Thrawn said. "A scouting vessel breached the Picket Force I had set up outside the Chiss Ascendancy. I gave them warning but they did not flee and when I engaged their ship, I found that I could not defeat them."

 _"You_ couldn't defeat them?"

"I didn't understand what they were or the nature of their presence. I provoked them into following me out of the Ascendancy. All the way to Wild Space."

"The starship crash…" Eli pondered. "The blue and white light… that was you?"

"Our ship made it planet-side whole. But the Yuuzhan Vong crashed into the surface."

"Near the woods?"

Thrawn nodded.

"We observed the survivors. Culled them when they came too close to Human settlements. But when they began slaughtering hundreds, I chose to end them."

"People were disappearing all the time," Eli remembered. "Dad said it was the slavers."

"A coincidence masking the truth."

"Wait, you said you took me aboard your ship?" Eli backed up.

"Yes."

"And you didn't say anything?" he demanded. _"All this time?"_

"There was not an fitting opportunity to tell you."

"Krayt spit!" Eli spat. "You had ten years to tell me. The first words out of your mouth should have been 'Hi Eli, so nice to see you again.'"

"I thought you were a spy."

_"What?!"_

"I suspected the ISB positioned you aboard the Strikefast to monitor my activities," Thrawn said quietly.

"Are you serious?" Eli sneered. "You thought _I_ was a spy? After everything we've been through?"

"I see now that I was mistaken," Thrawn admitted.

"I don't believe this."

"Suspend belief for a moment and consider this scenario: you are marooned on an alien world. A starship enters orbit. It brings transports full of aliens wearing military uniforms and among them, a boy, to whose head you held a gun ten years prior. What is your course of action?"

_"You held a gun to my head?!"_

"The only thing standing in the way between you and certain death was a man named Anakin Skywalker," the Chiss said sternly, his face black with shadow but for his glowing red eyes.

"You tried to kill me?" Eli took a step back. His eyes fell upon the heavy blaster pistol Thrawn kept holstered on his hip despite regulations forbidding officers to do so.  

"Yes. But General Skywalker made apparent the error in my logic."

Eli looked down at his tightly squeezed fist. It was shaking and white at the knuckles. He slowly unravelled it to reveal the tiny resin cube with the strange insect inside.

"You're a monster," he said quietly.

"Perhaps," Thrawn nodded. "But without your help, I would have never have seen it for myself."

He picked up one of the drawings off the desk and admired it with his glittering red eyes, a tiny smile playing at his mouth.

"You've forced me to re-evaluate my priorities. Construct new plans."

"I don't want anything to do with your plans," Eli muttered painfully.

"I will not force you to participate," Thrawn said calmly. "I only wish to enlist your aid should you choose to give it."

 _"Aide?"_ Eli shook his head. "Very funny."

"This is what you call a pun, yes?"

Eli folded his arms and gave him an unimpressed smirk.

But Thrawn simply let the flimsi drawing in his hand drift down onto the table.

"The Yuuzhan Vong are still out there," he said gravely. "They are massing on the border of our galaxy and travelling further and further into the Vaagari Corridor."

Eli frowned.

"That's in the Unknown Regions, isn't it?"

Thrawn's hands disappeared behind his back.

"It is dangerously close to the Chiss Ascendancy."

"Huh," Eli pondered. "So that's where you guys have been hiding. No one goes in there cos of the big nebula messing up their navicomputers."

Thrawn nodded.

"The Rata Nebula generates enough electro-magnetic interference that our planets go undetected but the Yuuzhan Vong technology is organic and will be unaffected by such phenomena."

"How many are there?"

Thrawn's stern expression grew darker.

"Half a million ships have been spotted on the other side," he said. "They will not come all at once but they do not have to. By my estimates, even a fraction could potentially decimate half the galaxy."

Eli swallowed a bad feeling which travelled all the way down to his stomach and back. Thrawn wasn't known for exaggeration or paranoia. His assessments were as close to accurate as could be found. And the fear was contagious.

"Why haven't you told the Emperor?" he asked.

"I have given several briefings and reports to the Emperor on my findings. Lord Vader himself has assisted me in collecting information but the Emperor is fixated on the Death Star Project. He believes its completion will be the solution to all threats, both internal and external."

"He's putting all his eggs in one basket," Eli said, rubbing his face thoughtfully. "That's pretty dangerous if it goes south."

"The same is true of its completion. Such a weapon is unsuitable for a territory as large as the Empire occupies."

"You think it's gonna fail?" Eli raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"It is as you say. The Emperor has put all his resources towards completing the Death Star and I fear my reports have only accelerated the process."

"You think you've made it worse?"

"I've come to realise the Imperial Navy isn't as indomitable as I initially thought," Thrawn said, turning back to the view wall. "Even with the galaxy united under the rule of one Galactic Empire, we may simply be outmatched. The constant rebellions in the outskirts are only exacerbating a power structure stretched to its limits."

"The Empire's too big for its boots," Eli smirked, glancing out at the cityscape. "Have you tried, you know, _talking_ to the Yuuzhan Vong?"

Thrawn suddenly stiffened, his jowls quivering. Two glowing red eyes flickered toward Eli.

"Yes," he said slowly. "Attempts to establish diplomatic relations have been… unsuccessful."

"Well, now I'm really worried," Eli sighed, putting hands on his hips.

The Admiral turned to examine his posture.

"If _you're_ worried," he said, "then we're bloody well screwed."

Thrawn blinked. "Explain."

"We're done for. Karkin' it. Dead as a Dathomir door mouse," Eli rejoiced in his newfound freedom of speech.

"Not yet," the Admiral said. "Not while I'm still breathing."

Eli frowned. "You said you wanted my help?"

"I do," the Chiss turned to face him. "I want you to go home. I want you to take a well-deserved vacation and when you're done, report to the Chiss Ascendancy for debriefing. Admiral Ar'alani will be waiting for you at these coordinates." He passed him a datacard.

"You want me to go the Chiss Ascendancy?" Eli gawked at the card.

"Yes."

Eli looked up at Thrawn reluctantly.

"Wouldn't it be better if... you went?" he suggested. "Seeing as how you're actually Chiss and all?"

"I am still technically exiled," Thrawn said. "And my position here ensures the cooperation of the Empire when the time comes."

"So _you're_ the spy," Eli grinned.

"Our goals are not incompatible."

"But our motives and methods might be." Eli folded his arms.

Thrawn closed his eyes and opened them deliberately.

"Yes. I see that now," he said and Eli thought the words held a great deal of weight to them.

"Regardless of whether you choose to aid me or not-" Thrawn raised a fist into the air and crossed it over his chest before bringing his feet together and bowing. "It's been an honour serving with you, Commander Eli Vanto."

Eli staggered back and watched the blue-black hair on Thrawn's head descend before him. It lingered for a good long minute and then drifted back up and the Commander stepped forward to grab him around the waist.

"I'm gonna miss you, big guy," Eli said, giving him a hug. "Even though I kind of hate you right now..."

Eli felt Thrawn's hands hovering indecisively before drifting down to touch his shoulders. They pushed him back gently.

"I will miss you, too," he said.

"Don't get all soft on me now," Eli grinned. "We've got some Vong to defeat."

"Yuuzhan Vong," Thrawn corrected, his voice gaining an edge.

"Yes, sir," Vanto nodded habitually as he straightened up to attention.

"I've included a dossier on the datacard. As well as my personal journal."

"I get to read your diary?" Eli grinned.

"Journal." Thrawn's arms drifted behind his back again. "And I want you to take this."

He held out the rank plaque Eli had left on his desk. Three shiny red tiles and three identical blue.

Vanto shook his head. "Didn't you hear me? I just resigned."

"I never accepted your resignation," the Chiss said matter-of-factly. "Henceforth, you are Imperial attaché to the Chiss Ascendancy, Commander Eli Vanto."

Eli rubbed his eyes wearily with one hand.

"I don't even know what language you speak," he said desperately.

"Cheunh," Thrawn replied. "You will be taught by an experienced multilingual but Sy Bysti will be enough in the interim."

"Thrawn…"

"I also requisitioned a Lambda-class transport shuttle for your personal use."

"You got me a Lambda?" Eli's eyes widened.

Thrawn held out the keys on one long blue finger.

Eli made a face and caved.

"Alright," he took the plaque and the keys. "But this better not be one of your crazy plans."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Thrawn said, a smile playing at his mouth.

Eli Vanto pinned the rank plaque back to his uniform and twirled the Lambda keys on his finger.

"Let's just say I have a lot of experience."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone, thanks for sticking with me to the end of this fic. i would never have finished it so quickly if it wasn't for all the wonderful comments and support you guys have shown.
> 
> if you liked this fic, maybe you might like to read some of my other works. The Planet of Undying Light is pretty similar to this one except it's set during the old republic and has a lot more lightsaber battles (see if you can spot my blueberry Soren in the first half ;) I'm also writing an origin fic for Soren and Raya as cadets on Naporar called Together if anyone is interested in a more Chiss-centric fic.
> 
> I've got a few more Thrawn works baking in the oven but they're not quite ready so stay tuned for future fics or head back and read the canon novel and tell me if this fic made it better or worse.
> 
> and if you dont wanna comment or leave kudos, you can always chat to me on tumblr. my url is cystemic.tumblr.com
> 
> Cheers guys, and may warrior's fortune smile upon you ;)


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